


Huge Revolution

by lalunaticscribe



Series: Revolution [3]
Category: One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: AU, Duel Monsters, Filler, Gen, Revolution, Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-08
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2017-11-07 06:44:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 130,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/428097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalunaticscribe/pseuds/lalunaticscribe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Restructer Revolution.</p><p>Yusei and Aki rejoins the crew on their journey into the New World as the winds of fate changes over the Grand Age of Pirates. Will they succeed to see Luffy crowned Pirate King, or will the repercussions of a miracle catch up with them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Hieratic Seal of Convocation

**Author's Note:**

> Being a Continuity of the Saga of Restructer Revolution

**Prologue: Hieratic Seal of Convocation**

They say, fate is like a script that dictates the play of life. The blues of peace, the reds of wars, everything unfolds to the tune of destiny.

There are those that claim, that the world is a stage, and the people merely players. The land, the seas, the animals, perhaps even the mysteries of life, are mere backdrops for the play that unfolds, they say. That every event is a well-planned, well-rehearsed script.

Take, for example, the Marineford War. In the original script, two people died, setting the stage for global upheaval across the wide ocean known as the Grand Line for a man of darkness named Blackbeard to take over as one of the top four powers of the new era of the world.

The presence of a single man, a single man with the power to create a miracle, changed the script at a turning moment of the story of fate, playing out the destiny of the world in a different direction.

It is the Grand Age of Pirates. The search for One Piece moves ever onwards. The winds of fate have changed the course of the world, which awaits with bated breath that one man, who would bear the heritage of the name, and challenge the whole world to a fight.

They wait... as they continue to.

* * *

_Rusukaina Island..._

"I have to hurry up and get stronger..." he panted as he continued to take down beast after beast. "For everyone... so that I don't lose anyone..."

_What's the point in comrades if you can't face them?_

"For... everyone... Ace... Yusei... I will do it!"

_Kenzan Island..._

"Yohohoho! What a surprise to see you here, Yusei Kun! Izayoi San... may I see your panties?"

"Ah, Brook San... you haven't changed... except that you've become a rock star..."

"..."

"... so, Yusei Kun, how did you get here? And with such a nice young man beside you too!"

"...Ace San, that is Brook, our musician."

"Ah... so he's not a monster?"

"No. So, please put him out?"

_Karakuri Island..._

"Super! Yusei managed to perform a miracle!"

"...Ace San, this is Franky, our shipwright."

"He's not a monster?"

"Ace... although I wish it... no. He's just a pervert." she added.

"..."

"Ace San, we still need him. So you can't set him on fire. Think what Luffy San would say."

"...Luffy, do you miss Aniki? If the old man abuses you I'll roast him alive..."

All three present looked at the sobbing Ace who just fell asleep in his plate of soup. "Brother complex," they all agreed.

_Momoiro Island..._

"So... much pink..."

"Must... resist... pyromaniac... tendencies..."

"...Sanji San, they are coming."

"Ah! Run for your lives and manhood!" the blond cook ran away from the horde of _okama._

"Oh, Yusei-boy! Come, do you want to try-"

"No thank you, Iva San."

_Weatheria..._

"Nami San... how did you get here?"

"Enough with the questions! Just get these monsters before they get to the island!"

_Boin Archipelago..._

"Usopp San? Why are you hiding behind the tree?"

"You guys are scary... that's a whole plant..."

"Well, if the plant spat out the Go earlier, then Aki didn't need to threaten it."

"That was its lunch, Yusei! She made it vomit out its whole lunch!"

"...zzz..."

"Oh, he's asleep. Wait, how can he fall asleep at a time like this!"

_Kuraigana Island..._

"So, I'll see you at the Sabaody Archipelago then, Zoro San!" he was yelling as the boat drifted off, its engine humming.

Roronoa Zoro took a quick look at the partially-bleeding form of Dracule Mihawk, courtesy of the Black Rose Dragon, and decided not to try and court death directly today.

"One hundred and ninety million," Zoro whistled over the new bounty posters of the Straw Hats' newest wanted persons. "Damn. Two hundred and ten million for _Yusei_? The Marines should give the higher bounty to Aki, she's the more vicious one..."

The world's greatest swordsman, one Dracule Mihawk, seemed uncertain. "About that... I would have to agree with you."

"Cold sweat, jittery eyes, and a sudden phantom pain somewhere around the midriff," Zoro nodded in almost-sympathy. "All the usual symptoms of having met Aki after we did something by complete accident to Yusei."

"What a reliable man that is," the world's greatest swordsman nodded in agreement. "If he lives..."

"You're not the only one who thinks so," Zoro scoffed.

" _If he lives_ ," Mihawk continued. "There shall be one less monster in this world. If he dies, we shall all have to contend with the Black Rose Witch."

"Amen," Zoro agreed seriously.

Silence...

"For some reason, I suddenly feel like cutting up plants." Mihawk coughed. "The forest near the Humandrills should do."

"For some reason, I feel like joining you."

_The skies above the Grand Line..._

"Chopper San? Are you sick?"

"Yusei... I don't think I'm meant to fly..."

"...I suppose it depends on your perspective?"

_The island of Baltigo..._

"Ara, Handyman San." the dark-haired woman looked up from her book. "The last I heard, you were approaching another island. Aki San, nice to see you well too. I suppose this is the captain's brother?"

"I've been travelling with Ace San and Aki through the Grand Line," the brunet man nodded. "I've met everyone again... Luffy San is training for our sakes."

"Of course he is," she nodded. "As are we. I, too, have people to treasure. I see you are well, Handyman San, but I doubt that this is a social chat."

"Well... we've been travelling the Grand Line, hunting monsters too."

"Indeed? Do tell."

Men standing at the sidelines, the strongest of the Revolutionaries, turned to whisper to each other.

"Oi, that's-!"

"The star! The star of hope!"

"The man who did a miracle!"

* * *

Up in the holy city of Mariejois, ten thousand miles above the rest of the world, the five most important men of the world were having a discussion.

"It's two years since the Straw Hat Pirates last showed their faces..."

"D'you think they've scattered already?"

"As if!"

"If the Straw Hats gather... they'll run to the New World...!"

"They'll be out of our grasp!"

"We'll have to mobilise everything!"

"But..."

"Yes?"

"Wouldn't that mean... _that man_... would be there?"

Silence descended over the meeting.

" _That man...?_ "

"The newest one. You know, the last rookie Supernova. That-"

"It'll be rather difficult to ignore the man who destroyed Marineford with a single command, I imagine! Of course we know what you're talking about! The thing is... do we have the capabilities to face _that man_?"

"Perhaps... we could sway his loyalty to our side? It'll be quite a waste of such talent..."

"I dare you, to sway that man's loyalty."

"That man single-handedly discredited the Navy more than any insider ever could!"

The head of the meting gave a delicate cough. "In any case, if the Straw Hats do gather, we mobilise. Meeting adjourned."


	2. I: The Dragon Dwelling in the Deep

The hydrofoil _Blackbird_ was hardly an outstanding ship. Made mostly of the black steel common to Water Seven that did not rust, save for the deck built of wood leftover from the construction of the last pirate ship to leave the water city, it bore no insignia on its plain black sail and flag by which to identify itself, and was completely run by propellers and its engine, or by the occasional fire-power. It was built along a more streamlined blueprint than most ships, and floated on its red foils when it was not actively skidding on the surface of the Grand Line at speeds enough to outrun most ships by the direction of its masters and builders. As it was speeding, the yellow-painted aft of the ship would clearly stand out, giving the impression of a bird running on the water with yellow tail-feathers flashing.

There was certainly a need for speed involved in its construction; the Blackbird had borne, for the past two years, the three most notorious wanted persons on this side of the Grand Line. It was currently proving the validity of its construction as it sped over the Grand Line towards the floating mangrove known as the Sabaody Archipelago.

Sharp blue eyes scanned the crashing waves as the black hydrofoil sped onwards, away from the raging Marines and the monster lazily travelling behind. The owner of said blue eyes stood by the wheel. His toned skin shivered under the black tee, jeans, leather belt, navy denim jacket and long black gloves, not from the cold winds that blew on the ocean and whipped his gold-streaked black hair about his face.

No, Fudo Yusei had no reason to be shivering from the heat considering that the man standing next to him was an embodiment of fire.

Portgas D. Ace had outwardly changed very little since the Marineford Miracle. True, he was still recognisable by his wanted poster, being a childishly freckled young man with the build on the slight side, but with a much broader chest than Yusei over which he bore a red shirt with orange flame print. The shirt was matched with dark navy denims and black boots, and a leather belt with the 'A' insignia along with a matching spade buckle, some distance away from a dagger hung at the hip. Perched atop his own raven hair was an orange cowboy hat with a string of red beads framing a pair of blue smiley, one smiling and one frowning like some theatre design sitting along the rim. The only reason the hat was not being blown away was due to the straps bound to a bull's skull medallion holding the accessory to its owner's head. Along his left arm, beside the distinctive ASCE tattoo the pirate with the epithet 'Fire Fist' was known for, was a Log Pose which both men were currently consulting.

"If we're lost, you _are_ aware that we'll be late for it, right?" Yusei was currently giving Ace the universal expression of 'are you sure?'.

"Well, you won't find another navigator that knows this route," the other defended. "Oi, Aki, you done behind yet?"

"No, it's as persistent as ever," she dropped onto the deck from the elevated aft of the _Blackbird._

Doctor Izayoi Aki had matured, yet she continued to wear her trademark low-cut red corset with short, light green puffy sleeves and a high collar. This was matched by a sleeveless magenta trench coat that flared behind her, being shorter and pleated in the fron4. The ensemble was matched by a red neck choker and an emerald crested, golden cross-shaped medallion, as well as a pair of dark, elbow-length gloves with a pair of gold bracelets above them, with stockings of the same colour connected to her skirts and red sandals to complete the while thing. The woman herself was pale, and her brown eyes narrowed onto Ace as strands of her own long burgundy-red hair hanging from its hold via a red scrunchy whipped in the winds.

"Persistent idiot," Ace muttered. "Why did I have to follow you guys again... zzz..."

"This isn't the time to sleep!" Aki yelled at the snoozing navigator as Yusei spun the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding the latest volley of Navy cannon.

"Hang on a bit more!" Yusei noted as he spied land and bubbles reflecting off the sun. "Wee27re almost there!"

"Oh, I fell asleep," Ace snapped back to consciousness as the female doctor threw him to the aft.

"Your turn!" she called, removing the Log Pose from his wrist on time.

"Geez, crazy woman." Ace muttered as he stood to face the Marine ships in hot pursuit of the Blackbird. "You left this many for me?"

Flames licked at his arms as his power activated. " _Hiiken!_ "

Yusei blinked as a random floating ember caught onto his jacket, which, if you looked closer, bore several burns and singes. "The deck's on fire." He then blinked. "Aki, fire extinguisher. He's caught me on fire again."

"You idiot!" Aki quickly doused Yusei with the fire extinguisher as she yelled behind at the pirate. "Do you want to die?"

"And what are you gonna do?" Ace snorted as he watched the last of the ships sink to the monster trailing behind in the waters. "Damn, still there..."

Very quickly, a plate-like object snapped into place on her wrist.

"Crud," Ace swore as he made his way towards the yellow slipper beside a smoking and wet Yusei, who gave him a miserable yet sympathetic look as the yellow object was thrown overboard and Ace followed it. Orange flames drove the boat away at the same time a large serpentine dragon with large red wings like rose petals appeared over the boat, roaring at the sky.

"Get him!" Aki commanded the Black Rose Dragon as she herself got on the dragon.

Yusei sighed as he steered the Blackbird towards the Sabaody Archipelago. Aside from that, he made no other movement save to dock the ship in Grove 42.

"Oh, Yusei Kun," Silvers Rayleigh was an old man, yet Yusei was not fooled.

"Rayleigh San. I thought you were still on Rusukaina."

"Nonsense. Luffy Kun just needed a bit of training in the first eighteen months. He'll be here soon with the Kuja Pirates."

"I see," Yusei gave Rayleigh a significant look b%fore looking at the ship of the Straw Hats, _Thousand Sunny_ , parked next to the _Blackbird_. "I wasn't aware that a welcoming committee was in order."

"Yo," the green-haired samurai behind Rayleigh snorted. "It's been a while... Yusei."

"Zoro San," Yusei gave a small grin as the samurai clapped him on the back. "It's been a long time too. How is Mihawk San?"

"Sore about the dragon, but holding up," Zoro wryly replied. "Congratulations, number two."

"No," Yusei shook his head. "I need to do something first before I can arrive. Rayleigh San..n your coating skills are needed."

"What's that?" Zoro squinted behind him. "A sea monster?"

"That's what I need to do," Yusei replied as both pirates took a step back. "I can't do anything overt... not here, at least. I have to hurry up or it'll follow us to the New World."

"Sounds like a plan," Zoro nodded. "Right then... I'll leave that to you, handyman."

"I'll see you aboard the Sunny," Yusei acknowledged as he turned to look at the waters lapping the Archipelago. "Swordsman."

"So, where's the crazy stalker woman?" Zoro remarked.

"Aki? Oh, she's chasing Ace San right now. I hope she doesn't injure him too badly."

"...I pity the man." Zoro and Rayleigh nodded wisely.

"Yo!" Franky's voice hollered as the shipwright appeared on land. "Yusei, is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah, I made it in Water Seven! Franky San!" Yusei replied.

"Super! Half of the Engineer Musketeers of the Thousand Sunny is back!"

Yusei's expression turned blank as he beheld the Battle Franky Thirty-Seven, a.k.a Armoured Franky. "...I don't know what you're talking about. I have a sea monster to handle first, after I dissuade Aki from killing Ace San."

"Poker face..." Zoro muttered.

* * *

"Where did he go..." the woman muttered under her breath qas the heels of her sandals clicked on the ground. "He ran..."

"It's the Straw Hats," the murmurs were passing along the street as she walked. 'What are they doing on the street?"

"Well, just now..."

"Don't look them in the eye. You can't fight them."

"Straw Hats?" Aki turned to look. "Please... even two years couldn't produce that much of a change."

"That's right, Luffy!" Chopper's high voice was unmistakable even after two years. "She could be kidnapped like Keimi!"

"Chopper..." Aki noted as she began to walk over towards them.

"Hey, stop talking in whispers!" Chopper was yelling at the fake Luffy.

"Oh well, let's leave it at that. That's her fate." the fake Luffy was saying.

"Isn't that further evidence that proves you're not Straw Hat Luffy?" Aki airily commented as she stopped before Chopper. "Chopper San, let's go."

"Eh? Aki!" Chopper yelled as he held onto her leg. "What d'you mean, he's not Luffy?"

"They're imposters," Aki replied, nodding as she led the tiny doctor away. "Let's go find the real ones. I think they'll be at the Sunny right now..."

"Who're you calling imposters, woman?" the fake Luffy stood before her, prodigious bulk wobbling as he levelled his gun at her. "Who're you anyway?"

She paused to glare at him, causing him to take a step back. "I do not feel like fighting imposters today. Chopper San."

"Aki!" Chopper panicked. "Robin's in trouble!"

"We'll have to help her then," Aki nodded as both of them moved off.

"Oi, wait!" the fake aimed and fired.

"Wall of Thorns!" the bullet bounced away to narrowly skim the fake Luffy as both ran off.

"That's-!"

"That wall... that light..."

"Don't tell me...!"

"The Black Rose Witch!"

"Huh? You mean they're imposters?" Chopper was exclaiming later as the bubble-bike hovered on its way, both Straw Hat doctors having met Nami and Usopp. "That's why there's two of Nami?"

"Oh please!" Nami sighed. "Robin's escaped the World Government for twenty years! It's unthinkable that she could be put in a bag and taken so easily!"

"I got it!" Chopper gasped in realisation. "I thought there was something wrong... she didn't even smell familiar!"

"You only just realised that...?" Aki sighed in fond exasperation. "True, there's a fake for every one of us, except Yusei, Ace and I."

"Ace I can understand, but why Yusei?" Nami asked. "Wouldn't people be more likely to impersonate the man who revived the dead?"

"Those fakes were found out and horribly lynched in public several times when they refused to perform a miracle, or they got killed by the Marines," Aki replied monotonously. "Anyone who tried to impersonate me often found themselves in the same fate."

"Now, I'm starting to get mad!" Chopper yelled. "What's with them? Posing like us? I won't allow them to imitate us! As if we're... stars~ those bastards!"

Nami slapped a waving Chopper about the head. "Don't let it go to your head! Well, it can't be helped if we have imitators since our captain became famous."

"I have to think about how to sign my autograph!" Chopper was saying.

"I have one already!" Usopp added.

"We're famous in a bad way! Don't you get it?" Nami scolded.

"We'll just have to handle it slowly," Aki sighed. "Still... it's good to see all of you again."

"Same too," Nami agreed. "Speaking of which... where's Yusei and Ace?"

* * *

In Grove 41, a swordsman and a cook were having an argument.

"I wanna go to sea. I wanna fish."

"No, you can't, shithead!"

"Why can't I? And _why_ should I listen to you?"

"Do you think I'm walking with you because I want to? You'll cause me more trouble if you wander about this island again! You _marimo_! Everyone's coming soon so just walk to the ship with me!"

"Che!" Zoro scoffed, yawning. "Dammit! How can number seven talk so bossily to number one?"

"Why are you ranking us in the order of our arrival? You got here first by chance! Don't get carried away!"

"'kay, I'm sorry... _number seven._ "

Incensed, real flames could be seen around Sanji. "Alright, I'll fight you! I trained my legs in hell for two years!"

Zoro came alight in blue flames. "Bring it on! I'll cut you in half!"

"Watch out!" someone yelled as red and blue clashed, a wall of orange flames burning between them.

"Crazy woman chased me for three days without food..." Portgas D. Ace landed on the ground in an undignified heap. "Hungry...zzz..."

" _Oi, is this the time to fall asleep?_ " Sanji and Zoro yelled at the sleeping form of Ace.

"Damn," Sanji muttered. "As troublesome as his brother."

"Maybe it's passed down the bloodline," Zoro commented.

Both shivered at the thought of either of the D. brothers with children.

* * *

In the waters surrounding the Sabaody Archipelago, the _Blackbird_ skidded over the waters as it revolved around the epicentre of a frothing whirlpool.

"Levia Dragon, Daedalus," Above the waters, a green bird-like monster flapped its wings, Yusei hanging from its clawed feet as he held up a card dispassionately in hand, Wrist Blader armed if only to keep his hands free. "I see... Draw."

The waves nearly reached him on the next roar, but Shield Wing flew higher, such that the concussive force behind the waves missed him.

"Stardust Xiaolong, summon!" he called, two cyclones revolving around him as the frothing stopped and the serpentine monster reared its head to growl at him.

* * *

"So cool!" Chopper screamed.

"Right?" Usopp agreed enthusiastically. "His body's just awesome!"

"He just grew bigger, with new attachments and more weapons," Aki sighed in fake exasperation. "Robin, you look well."

"Eh," Robin nodded. "So do you and Nami."

"What the hell happened to his body?" Nami commented, looking as Chopper and Usopp fawned over the 'new and improved' Franky.

Robin laughed quietly. "Who knows? I wouldn't understand him anyway."

"So this is the coating?" Nami commented as she set the shopping bags down on the deck, where the jelly-coating wobbled slightly.

"Oh, Nami? Hi!" Franky finally noticed the navigator.

"Yes, hi there," Nami muttered as she held up her hand. "What the hell was he doing for two years...?"

"You guys!" a strong voice called from land.

"Rayleigh San! Shakky!" Nami called down at them.

"Sorry to interrupt your reunion after two years, but trouble's brewing on this archipelago!" Rayleigh called back. "The Marines are coming."

"The Marines?" Nami echoed.

"Yes." Shakky agreed. "They think that the fake Straw Hats are the real ones and have begun to move. I have them wire-tapped, so there's no mistake. I told Brook Chan everything over the DenDen Mushi. He's on his way thins very moment."

"Oh? So he's abandoning his stardom?" Franky commented. "The guy really does have some bones."

"Nami Chan, you're the navigator, right?' Rayleigh was saying. "I'm about to teach you how to navigate a coated ship, so pay attention."

"Oh, yes!" Nami nodded. "I'll do my best!"

"Oh, what's going on? Everything's gotten serious all of a sudden!" Usopp called from the upper deck. "But, Rayleigh! Luffy's not here yet!"

"No worries!" Rayleigh grinned enigmatically. "Luffy's already here!

Aki nodded, certain.

"That looks fun," Robin commented.

"I gave Sanji a baby DenDen Mushi earlier," Franky said. "He's with Zoro and Ace right now."

"Really? That's good, because you need to hurry." Shakky lazily analysed. "The Marines are almost here. So Monkey Chan's the only one we can't reach... you guys should take this Vivre card. It should lead you to him."

"What about Yusei?" Usopp looked around. "The Engineer Musketeers aren't complete without him!"

"Don't worry about Yusei-bro," Franky drawled. "He's dealing with monsters for our safe voyage right now. He'll be here. I know it."

"Grove 42 should be fine, it's by the sea," Rayleigh commented. "Take the ship and rendezvous over there! It's been a lot of work, but you've all made it through these last two years! It's time to depart on your new journey!"

"'Course," Franky drawled, already heading for the wheel. "One of the Sunny's soldiers is there as well. We can't leave the Blackbird behind."

"As for the rest, read this before you set out," Rayleigh handed a scroll to Nami. "You can learn how to operate a coated ship in detail."

"I understand, thank you!" Nami accepted the scroll.

"I wonder how Luffy has changed in these past two years. I can't wait to see him!" Usopp drawled.

"True," Robin agreed.

Nami pumped a fist into the air. "Okay, let's go to Grove 42!"

"Wait, I have to call Sanji and Zoro," Franky drawled as he moved for the DenDen Mushi.

"But, Luffy..." Robin considered. "I hope he doesn't get caught up in some trouble."

"Oh, that's right, it's Luffy," Nami sighed. "We never set out peacefully because of him."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Aki considered, looking out towards the seas. "Yusei... please come quickly..."

"Leave it to me!" Chopper offered. "I'm gonna go pick him up! I have an idea!"

* * *

In Grove 41, feet clashed with swords as both men of the Straw Hat Pirates fought.

"You've improved a bit, you third-class swordsman," Sanji growled, panting.

"You've learned some idiotic kicking skills yourself," Zoro shot back, also panting. "i hope your cooking skills worsened, you shitty cook!"

"What did you say?" Both of them yelled at each other at the same time before getting back to fighting.

"I'd normally hate to break up these fights..." Ace drawled as he stood at the sidelines of the fight between swordsman and cook. "But, don't you have a ship to get to?"

"Huh?" Both looked down as a DenDen Mushi rang.

"Ow! That's right! The Navy has set out and Luffy should be here somewhere!" Franky's voice poured in through the baby DenDen Mushi later. 'We're gonna take Sunny to Grove 42, so come meet us there!"

"Roger," Sanji drawled back before the DenDen Mushi hung up.

"What?" Zoro muttered.

"Weren't you listening?" Sanji muttered. "Well... Navy. Come. We. Ship. Run. Get that?"

"No, I don't!" Zoro retorted. "Why are you talking like that? Say it in a proper sentence!"

Sanji closed his eyes. "I thought a muscle-head like you couldn't understand sentences."

"Huh?" Zoro snarled back. "Okay. You. Later. Slashed."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"By the way, do you hear that uproar?" Zoro commented.

"You're right," Sanji agreed. "There. Noisy."

"My Luffy sense is tingling," Ace muttered as he turned to face the mangrove of Grove 46.

"Don't you have a dragon to run from?" Zoro retorted. "What did you do anyway?"

"I... may have accidentally set Yusei on fire," Ace nervously twitched. "Scary witch... Luffy!"

There was a huge burst of fire that scorched the tops of the mangrove trees as the cloud of flames called Portgas D. Ace made for the rove, and to hell with the rest of the scenery.

"I'm gonna kill him..." Zoro coughed, left in the wake of an desperate Ace. "You'd think two years with Yusei would give him some more sense... shitty bro-con..."

"Shitty idiot..." Sanji coughed. "Where's Yusei anyway?"

* * *

Shield Wing's flying had become increasingly desperate, in a bid to allow its master to evade the crashing storey-high waves that kept rising ever onwards. Beside him hovered a yellow dragon, a grey dragon and a giant hedgehog with bolts for quills.

"Bright Star Dragon's effect activates!" Yusei finally ordered. "I'll add two levels to Debris Dragon. I now tune Quillbolt Hedgehog to Debris Dragon! Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! _Take flight, Stardust Dragon!_ "

The white dragon shook the glittering dust off its wings as it looked down at the serpent and roared in reply.

"Stardust Xiaolong is summoned in attack position," Yusei breathed. "And, I remove from play Bright Star Dragon to summon D.D. Sprite!" The green-haired baby that appeared fluttered on tiny wings next to the screeching Shield Wing.

"Tuning, Stardust Xiaolong to D.D. Sprite!" Yusei commanded as they barely evaded another wave. "Clustering wishes will call out a new speed's horizon! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! The power of hope, Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron!"

The little multi-coloured race-car that burst from the starlight looked at Stardust Dragon, before nodding and revving forward.

"Tuning, level eight Stardust Dragon to level two Formula Synchron!" Yusei called out as the stars and rings of light began to shine. "Clustering crystal dreams open the door to a new evolution! Become the path its light shines upon!"

Even hanging from the back of a bird in the air with a sea serpent below raging at him, Yusei's eyes never wavered as the deck-case on his belt glowed, a single card falling from it to glow with bright white light.

"Accel Synchro!" Yusei called towards the light as the new, glowing dragon of stars spread its wings. " _Be born, Shooting Star Dragon!_ "

* * *

The approaching Marine warships were being blocked by the Kuja ship, as the Straw Hats got ready to set sail.

"Ahh, everyone's here!" a black-haired simpleton in a red cardigan, blue denim shorts, sandals and with a straw hat perched on his head, remarked as he perched himself on the lion figurehead of the Sunny.

_'Strawhat' Monkey D. Luffy. Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B400 million_

"Feels like we're missing someone." a green-haired man in a green samurai's robe growled, one eye permanently closed by a cut. One hand drifted to the white one of three sheathed swords on his hip.

_'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro. Swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B120 million._

"Shitty marimo, 'course we are," a blond man in a formal suit growled, smoking a cigarette.

_'Black Leg' Sanji. Chef of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B77 million_

"Calm down, both of you," a long-nosed brunet curly-haired man in yellow overalls groaned.

_'Sogeking' Usopp. Sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B30 million_

"Yeah, yeah," a tiny reindeer standing on its hind legs with a huge head nodded in agreement.

_'Cotton Candy Lover' Tony Tony Chopper. Doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B50_

"It's been a long time, and yet both Swordsman San and Cook San don't change," a mature-looking woman with long black hair chuckled.

_'Demon Child' Nico Robin. Archaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B80 million_

"Robin, you too?" a woman with long wavy orange hair and dressed in a striped bikini top and jeans groaned.

_'Burglar Cat' Nami. Navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B16 million_

"That guy's making us wait a super long time, yo!" a... very colourful cyborg... posed.

_'Cyborg' Franky. Shipwright of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B44 million_

"Yohohoho!" A male skeleton with an afro in coloured pants, snazzy jacket and pink feather boa with a crown-hat chuckled. "When I read the bounty poster my eyes nearly popped out of my head, I was so surprised, Yohohoho! Ah, but I have no eyes!"

_'Hummer' Brook. Musician of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B30 million_

"Shoot! Shoot and sink them!"

"The Marines are here already!" Nami complained.

"In the distance!" Usopp called, spying with his telescope. "That's..."

"Ace!" Luffy glomped his older brother. "It's been a long time!"

"Yeah, it is..." the older D. had a soft smile on his face. "Two years or so already... I've been travelling around with the crew-mate of yours, since he completely missed out on the experience..."

_'Fire Fist' Portgas D. Ace. Brother of Luffy. Relation yet unclear with the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B550 million_

A roar sounded behind them, the usually brave Mera Mera user immediately paling as he heard it.

"Ah, you pissed Aki off," Luffy sagely nodded as he, too, heard it.

"Yeah..." he sank to the ground, depressed. "I'm not going to live to see the next day... forgive me, mother, old man, Luffy..."

"In the distance!" a Marine aboard one of the approaching warships screamed. "It's a dragon!"

"It's the black dragon! The omen of destruction... the Black Rose Dragon!"

"The Black Rose Witch, Izayoi Aki!"

"Aki!" Luffy cheered as the black dragon with the red florid wings floated above the deck, its slender red-haired beautiful mistress giving Ace a kick in the side.

"What was setting the boat on fire for?" she yelled at the cowering man in the orange hat. "He could've died!"

_'Black Rose Witch' Izayoi Aki. Second doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B190 million_

"Eh?" Nami blinked. "Where's our resident miracle worker?"

The hydrofoil _Blackbird_ might not be especially aesthetically wonderful, but it possessed a speed and mobility that was shown as it rammed to fly up over the railings to crash-land on the Sunny's deck.

"Sunny!" Franky yelled as the rider in navy and black dismounted. "Watch it, Yusei!"

"Er, Franky..." Zoro peered in. "There's no one inside."

"If Yusei's not there..." Aki murmured, "Then... ah! Behind the warships!"

Usopp looked closer with his telescope. "That's... a dragon! And on it... _Yusei!_ "

A Marine dropped his binoculars into the ocean. "T- The..."

"What?" the Rear Admiral onboard yelled.

"The dragon!" the Marine yelled. "The Shooting Star, Fudo Yusei, is here!"

His declaration caused panic to break out on deck.

"W-What? He made it?" "We'll be killed!"

"Before we begin, a reading," Yusei drew five cards. "Effect Veiler, Hyper Synchron, Saviour Dragon, Nitro Synchron, Junk Synchron. Five tuners... guaranteed. We will have a good trip."

"That dragone27s... different..." the Marine squinted.

"Fire!" the Rear Admiral ordered. "Shoot down that dragon!"

"Battle, Shooting Star Dragon!" Yusei commanded. "Stardust Mirage!"

Luffy stared. "The dragon..."

"Split into five!" Franky finished, as the entire crew watched the five dragons completely total the ship to recombine into one dragon that floated above the deck.

"Yusei!" Franky yelled as the rider leapt off the disappearing dragon to land safely on deck. "

"Sorry, Franky San!" the rider grinned, stretching the yellow mark on his left cheek, blue eyes twinkling against the slightly darker skin tone of his face. "I missed everyone!"

"Yusei!" Chopper glomped the man built more along the streamlined front, crying. "Y5sei~!"

"Our handyman is back!" Nami grinned.

"Yusei!" Luffy glomped him too.

_'Shooting Star' Fudo Yusei. Handyman of the Straw Hat Pirates. Bounty: B210 million_

e3Cp>"Seems like it's time to dive," Nami consulted her Log Pose. "You sure took your time, Yusei."

"We had to run from a sea monster," Ace grinned. "Yusei had to hold it back."

"Sea monster? Where?" Luffy looked around. "Is it good to eat?"

Yusei pointed down and out, towards the large serpentine body currently in the midst of breaking one Marine warship slowly and painfully in the deep ocean, the dark waters churning with white froth.

"...Yosh! Let's start!" Luffy cheered, turning away from the sight.

"He completely ignored it!" Usopp and Chopper yelled, slapping the air.

"Men!" Luffy yell%d. "I've got a lot of things to share with you, but in any case, thank you for going along with my selfish decision for two years!"

"That wasn't the first time," Sanji remarked.

"And it won't be the last," Yusei nodded.

"He's right! You've always been selfish!" Usopp joked.

Luffy laughed, grinning as the ship submerged. "Spread the sails!"

"Yes!" "Yeah!"

For the first time in two years, the grinning skull and crossbones of the determination of the Straw Hat Pirates unfurled, waving its crew's determination to sail in the face of death.

"Set sail!" Luffy yelled.

"Yeah!" they all cheered, as the Thousand Sunny dived down into the deep ocean towards their next adventure.

"Let's go!" Luffy commanded happily, finally back on his own ship. "To Fishman Island!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm going to wait until the canon is sufficiently developed to write really long, so, chapters are going to have longer intervals but are more likely to be longer and contain more description. Meanwhile, I'll also be developing my brainchild, The Adventure of the Man of D., so do check that out if anyone wants to see the Straw Hat Pirates in the Sherlock Holmes world.


	3. II: A Legendary Ocean

**II: A Legendary Ocean**

_Previously:_

" _Men!" Luffy yelled. "I've got a lot of things to share with you, but in any case, thank you for going along with my selfish decision for two years!"_

" _That wasn't the first time," Sanji remarked._

" _And it won't be the last," Yusei nodded._

" _He's right! You've always been selfish!" Usopp joked._

_For the first time in two years, the grinning skull and crossbones of the determination of the Straw Hat Pirates unfurled, waving its crew's determination to sail in the face of death._

" _Yeah!" they all cheered, as the Thousand Sunny dived down into the deep ocean towards their next adventure._

" _Let's go!" Luffy commanded happily, finally back on his own ship. "To Fishman Island!"_

* * *

Waves crashed onto shore amidst the gentle sounds of blowing and popping bubbles and the rustle of leaves from the sea winds, in the Sabaody Archipelago.

"They're gone before you know it." the former pirate Shakuyaku blew a plume of smoke. "Monkey Chan and everybody, they all got stronger."

"Were you watching?" Rayleigh smirked, sitting cross-legged on the shore.

"Yes, I'm a big fan of theirs. That finisher was also something worth seeing." the woman more known as Shakky studied the old man. "You're thinking of something, aren't you, Ray San?"

"Hmm? Well... yeah..." the old man drifted off in memory lane, the first time a man named Gol D. Roger met Silvers Rayleigh. Tears of nostalgia were wiped away. "Maybe nothing in this world happens by accident. As everything happens for a reason, our destiny slowly takes form. At any rate, Luffy looks great in that hat, better than ever. Maybe I want to live a little longer."

* * *

"The surface is far up there already," Robin noted.

"What a view!" Franky exclaimed in admiration as light shone through the bubble in drifts from the ocean surface. "Submarines can't have windows this wide!"

"We're sinking and sinking!" Chopper trilled. "I can't stop worrying about flooding!"

"Feels like we're leaving the living world," Nami nervously commented. "It makes me nervous!"

"C- C- Can we go back on the surface again for sure?" Usopp stuttered in awe and fear. "I- It's not like I'm scared but..."

Luffy groaned in appreciation as he took a good look. "It's beautiful down here!"

"How nostalgic," Ace commented. "Feels like my time back with the Spade Pirates."

"Yohoho! Look at that!" Brook called.

"Aaah!" Luffy chuckled. "Trees... no, roots!"

"Oh yeah!" Sanji recalled. "Come to think of it, Sabaody Archipelago consists of nothing but giant mangroves!"

"I'm overwhelmed by the beauty of nature!" Brook exclaimed. "I'm so surprised – my eyes could pop out! I don't have eyes though! Yohohoho!"

"I've seen this already." Zoro commented.

"Yeah, because you got on the wrong ship!" Sanji yelled at him. "Shut up! Everybody's having a great time!"

"It's beautiful!" Aki gasped.

"Yeah..." Yusei gripped the railings as he leaned for a closer look. "And all due to a bubble... it's dangerous but somehow I can't help but enjoy it..."

"I can't believe these roots are running down to the sea bottom," Robin commented. "They're enormous and magnificent!"

Chopper had just about given up playing with puffer fish, puffing out his cheeks to match them. "I can't hold it any longer," he sighed.

"Hey, Chopper..." Usopp nervously backed away. "There's something behind that tree!"

"What?" Chopper looked to see a huge fish. "Wow, it's huge!"

"How exciting! An underwater adventure!" Luffy cheered. "It's like a dream come true!"

"I think we should sink faster," Yusei looked up. "Franky San, what do you think of the Black Bird?"

"Super!" Franky posed. "Nice job, Yusei!"

"Oi, Yusei," Ace looked up. "Are you sure-?"

"Oh, fish!" Luffy leapt for the fish, landing on the bubble. "I think I can catch them!" the bubble stretched like rubber as he held on. Usopp began to blow in shock as he watched.

"The fish here looks delicious too," Zoro prepared to unsheathe his sword, much to Chopper' panic.

_POW!_

"Stop, you fools!" Usopp yelled at the two idiots who were currently nursing bumps on their heads.

"What if the bubble pops!" Chopper joined him. "Don't do that ever again, got it!"

"Nami San, give us some dos and don'ts on the coated ship before they do something stupid," Sanji said.

"Ah yes, Sanji Kun!" Nami agreed as she turned. "Rayleigh San gave me a note. Alright, everybody listen..."

"She's moving! A real, beautiful woman!" the force of his nosebleed sent the blond cook rocketing to hit the bubble.

"Sanji!" the three simple-minded, a.k.a Luffy, Usopp and Chopper, yelped.

"It's gonna pop! It's gonna pop!" Chopper yelled.

"How can anyone fly that far with a nosebleed?" Usopp yelped as the bubble stretched.

"EEEEHHHH?" They yelled as Sanji safely passed through the bubble with a pop and nothing broke. "Sanji flew out into the water!"

"It's amazing," Robin remarked. "The bubble doesn't break even under tremendous pressure in this deep water, but things can pass through it like that." Franky looked from the sight to her, unsure of which to be surprised at.

"Sanji!" Luffy threw an arm out. "Come back!"

The arm stretched, breaking through the bubble wall to latch onto the cook. Luffy grimaced. "I feel weak in the water..."

"Then hurry up!" Ace yelled.

"Hang in there!" Usopp and Chopper held the captain down as Sanji was reeled back in with some resistance from the bubble, all four of them tumbling over as the cook landed on the ship on them, his visible eye still in a heart-shape.

"Pervert," Aki muttered.

Even Zoro stared at the huge number of blood bags the cook was attached to later.

"What happened to you, Sanji?" Usopp muttered as Chopper desperately tried to revive the cook, water spouting from his mouth every interval. "You've become even more susceptible to women!"

"This isn't like you!" Chopper cried.

"I feel sorry for him..." Brook murmured. "What happened to this ladies' man Sanji San in the past two years? At this rate he's gonna bleed to death once he meets the mermaids that he longs to see... I can't help but worry... "

Yusei frowned as he hung up more blood bags. "I think the last time we saw him, it was with Iva San at the Momoiro Island..."

"The okama kingdom," Ace nodded. "Two years stuck there... to this ladies' man, it must be hell..."

A shiver ran through the cook, but otherwise Sanji made no other reaction.

"We'll have to call for blood donations at the Fishman Island," Chopper noted. "I wonder if Fishmen and mermaids have the same blood as humans."

"The bubble that coats the Sunny has the same quality as the bubbles at Sabaody Archipelago, as we just saw," Robin commented, as Franky carried a freaked-out look.

Usopp pointed at her. "Stop analysing the bubble in such a calm manner, you!"

"Yes, Robin's right," Nami agreed. "Basically, they're the same. It stretches to certain points and beyond that, it allows things to get through. Which means that, if we fire a gun or a cannon at a creature that attacks us, the bubble won't break."

"This property can also be used as emergency transport under the sea, as you can move people easily by inserting them in a bubble," Yusei agreed.

"Huh?" Usopp exclaimed. "Then, on what occasion will it break instead?"

"As you can imagine, when there are too many holes at once, it'll break," Nami answered. "For example, if we're bitten by a Sea King's fangs, it'll be trouble."

Chopper and Usopp screamed as they shivered, and, as if prophetic, a giant Sea King swam over.

"AAAHH! It's coming from behind!" Chopper and Usopp screamed.

Just then, a fat sea-horse bearing a mouth of sharp teeth bit it, away from the ship.

"They're fighting... we're safe!" they sighed in relief.

"Or if the ship breaks up by crashing into a rock or trench, the broken mast or planking will break the bubbles and that also spells danger," Nami continued to read out. "So, we have to be careful with creatures and obstacles in the sea. As long as we don't do anything from inside it, it'll be fine."

"Nami San, you forgot one precaution," Yusei indicated Ace. "No fire inside the ship."

"Eh?" Nami blinked.

"There's only a limited amount of air inside the ship, and there are twelve people in total aboard," Yusei explained. "Assuming that there is normal atmospheric ratio of gases present, seventy-eight percent is nitrogen, twenty percent or so is oxygen, and the rest are miscellaneous gases with the concentration of carbon dioxide rising. We use the oxygen in the air to breathe. Aside from the obvious fire hazard, if Ace San uses his powers on the ship, the oxygen is burnt up, and sooner or later we'll suffocate for lack of oxygen."

"Ah! I never thought about that!" Nami panicked. "Ace, you're not allowed to use your Devil Fruit powers while the Sunny is coated!"

"I see! It's tougher than I thought!" Usopp sighed, relieved as he began laughing.

"But, seventy percent of ships that head for Fishman Island end up sinking," Nami stated, now serious. "So be cautious."

"YAAAAH!" Chopper and Usopp panicked. " _What's gonna happen?_ "

"With my Gatling, I can catch a whole lot of fish!" Luffy exclaimed obliviously as a school of fish swam past them.

"Then, let's see which of us can catch more fish!" Zoro hefted the black katana Shuusui in one hand.

"I bet I'll boil all of them first!" Ace grinned as he stood.

_Bang! Bang! POW!_

"Weren't you guys listening to what Nami said?" Usopp screeched at them, who were now nursing extra bumps, his fist smoking. "'Too many holes' is no good!"

"Don't ever try it again, or I'll kill you!" Chopper yelled with him before he began to cry.

"Damn! Hachi said he'd show us the way to Fishman Island so I thought it'll be safe trip!" Usopp was crying with Chopper.

"You forgot, we have a veteran with us," Nami pointed towards Ace.

"Oh, yeah!" Luffy, still nursing a red bump on his skull, dragged over a backpack one and a half times his height, filled to bursting. "The Kuja girls gave me a lot of lunches! Since Sanji is sick, let's eat these everyone!"

Chopper jumped in celebration as Usopp wallowed in depression. "I'm so starved!"

Brook laughed. "My bones are starved!"

"Nami, is the ship gonna be stable for a while?" Franky called. "Don't we have to do anything?"

"Nope, we just have to ride this big sea current for now," Nami replied. "So yeah, everything's fine. We'll continue like this for a while, we don't have much to do until later."

"Mm-hmm." Ace nodded, already struggling with Luffy for the meat.

"Then we have a little time, huh?" Franky considered, raising his sunglasses. "there's something that I have to tell you all about."

All the faces of the Straw Hats turned serious at that declaration.

Luffy expression was hidden by his hat. "Could it be about..."

The tension was mounting.

"...the robot's secrets?" the three simple-minded yelled, eyes sparkling.

"You have more secrets?" Luffy yelped.

"What can you transform into? Or do you have a secret weapon?" Usopp followed.

"Tell us, robo-Aniki!" Chopper crawled up behind on Franky's back.

"Robot?" Ace sat up, looking at Franky.

" _You too?_ " Nami yelled at him.

"Super Armoured... Me!" A small hand within his giant palm extended out to press his nose, turning his hair into two cone-shaped horns, the three laughing.

"No, I'm afraid..." Franky trailed, changing to a more mechanical voice. "I'm afraid it's not about that, robo."

"Wow, cool! He speaks Robotese!" they yelped.

Finally tired of entertaining them, Franky put his sunglasses back on. "This is what I wanna tell you guys about anyway. Go ahead and eat while you're listening." He sat on the seats by the tree on the deck-lawn.

So, it was like this, with everyone having lunch while Franky told his tale as he plummeted into the depths of the Grand Line.

"Hachi said that he would show us the way to the Fishman Island, but he got injured at Sabaody and he's under medical care at Fishman Island," Franky began. "He got injured for the same reason as Duval."

"That former slave trader with that same face at Sanji San's wanted poster before Sanji San rearranged it?" Aki recalled.

"He had been protecting the Sunny," Franky continued. "Around a year ago, the Navy found out about the Sunny, and those two faced fierce battles and were taken out of commission."

"Huh?" Usopp stopped eating for a moment. "Then, how did the ship remain undamaged after that?"

"There was someone else who fought for it," Franky answered seriously.

"Someone else?" Nami echoed.

"He's the one who separated us two years ago," Franky murmured. "The Royal Shichibukai..."

"Bartholomew... Kuma," Yusei murmured.

Franky nodded. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I got to the Sunny a few days ago... Bartholomew Kuma was right there! Because of him... There isn't a scratch on the Sunny. And Rayleigh told me later... "

"Two years ago..." Aki recalled. "He told me the same... he had a connection to the Revolutionary Army. He separated us... because, he wanted to save us... otherwise... we would have died."

"I think you guys half expected that," Franky observed. "He saved our lives!"

Chopper and Nami started.

Franky ploughed on. "After we vanished from the island, Kuma San visited Rayleigh and told him... that he hadn't much time left. I don't know what made him obey the Navy, but he agreed to be a guinea pig and let his body be modified into a cyborg piece by piece, and he somehow lost his personality before the War of the Best."

"But, I don't think he could guess what each of us would do after we get separated!" Chopper piped up. "Even so... he waited for us at the ship without his personality?"

"He made Doctor Vegapunk, who modified him, agree to program a mission into his mind." Franky answered. "'Defend the pirate ship until the day that one of the Straw Hats comes back to the ship.' That's why, for the past two years without his own memory, he has been carrying out his own orders, as a human weapon, waiting for us."

"That's insane," Zoro muttered. "Why did he do such a thing for us?"

"Terms like 'connection', and 'Revolutionary Army'," Usopp considered, chewing. "They remind me of Luffy's father, the leader of the Revolutionary Army."

Ace frowned as he gnawed midway through a hunk of meat.

"I don't know my father that well," Luffy replied, his mouth still full. "But that bear-like guy was a good guy, huh?"

"Well, there's no mistake that he's the one who gave us the past two worthwhile years," Franky said. "We can't even ask him why he did it, but just remember that. Bartholomew Kuma turned out to be one of our greatest allies. But, even if we meet him again, Kuma is now a heartless human weapon. That's all I have to say."

"I appreciate what he did but there's still some mysteries," Zoro muttered. "Hopefully we can find out his motive one day."

"Ally?" Sanji growled from his place on his back.

Chopper started. "Oh, you woke up, Sanji."

"Eat lunch!" Luffy cheered. "It's from the Maiden Island!"

"Maiden Island? Is that Kuma guy really an ally? Don't you realise where I was for the past two years? _What kind of training were you doing at the dream island full of women, Luffy?_ " he raged at the end.

"Whoa, whoa, Sanji San," Brook intervened. "I don't know what you've been through, but let's enjoy the voyage now! Do you wanna sing with me?"

"Stop trying to cheer me up!" Sanji yelled at the musician. "I feel pathetic!"

"How is Iva San?" Aki gave a small smirk as the cook shivered before curling into a fetal position.

"Oh, yeah!" Luffy grinned at his brother. "Why is Ace here? Are you going to join up with us?"

"No one said that..." Ace sighed. "Don't decide things on your own. Anyway, after we parted ways as Rusukaina, your handyman and second doctor decided to go around the Grand Line touring, and I was the navigator."

"So you were holidaying while we were training, you idiots?" the rest of the crew sans Robin raged.

"Let me finish!" Ace yelled at them. "Anyway, we were later running around the Grand Line chasing after monsters that even I can't believe exist. Monsters that are beyond this world, even for the Grand Line... and he's got them all caught in his bag."

"M- Monsters? B- Beyond this world?" Usopp stuttered.

"That white dragon... that black dragon... all of Yusei's and Aki's monsters... all of them are the same," Ace explained.

"Stardust Dragon..." Luffy remembered. "Ah! But that white dragon that beat the warships... it seemed different..."

"In short, these two years we spent monster-hunting and training around this half of the Grand Line. In two years, we pretty much defeated all of them," Aki then began to explain.

"So, the monsters you fought were the same type as those Yusei calls his _nakama_?" Zoro nodded. "Are they strong?"

"If you go into battle unprepared, you'll die," Ace smirked in reminiscence. "i tried to take on one in single combat... bloody tomato..."

"Huh?" they blinked.

"What he meant was, that he met a tomato monster he tried to defeat and took a while to kill it, but it summoned another tomato," Aki sighed. "In the end, he took down a horde of tomato monsters in single combat, but spent a month in intensive care after it."

"Those tomato monsters... are _that_ strong?" Luffy gasped.

"No way," Aki waved her hand. "It's just that if you kill one by battle, it'll summon another one around the same power as itself."

"In short, we weren't wasting these two years playing around." Ace protested. "That white dragon Luffy saw is proof of that. The reason I'm here, aside from clearing the debt of the Whitebeard Pirates... is because I've got a favour to ask of the Straw Hat Pirates."

* * *

"How deeply are we submerged already?" Luffy stared up at the top of the bubble.

"It's getting darker and darker," Usopp commented.

"We went through the photic zone, and we're at the bottom of the midnight zone," Franky observed. "It must be more than 1000 metres below now."

"It's really quiet," Robin noted. "It feels different from submersibles. It feels like flying in the sky."

"The sky, huh?" Nami muttered. "I have to start using what I studied on Weatheria for two years."

"The sky island?" Ace blinked. "Ah."

"You would know, those monsters trashed the place!" Nami yelled back.

"Whale! There's a whale!" Chopper announced.

"Laboon! Laboon!" Brook yelled out excitedly.

"No, that's old man Whitebeard!" Ace and Luffy pointed together, before laughing.

"It's a real change from just now," Sanji noted. "When he gave that ridiculous request..."

" _I have last obligations to finish with the Whitebeard Pirates. That is... the Blackbeard Pirates." Ace twitched._

" _Ah, that man who killed Whitebeard," Sanji recalled. "It was in the newspapers. What's that got to do with the crew, though?"_

" _Blackbeard has an ability that allows him to negate any Devil Fruit power, and absorb attacks on top of that," Ace continued, his expression serious. "What's more, he's got a strong crew, especially with those new members he helped from Impel Down. Those members aren't the problem... it's Blackbeard's power that's the main thing... because, it also allows him to absorb Devil Fruit powers from people he's defeated. Two powers... three powers... no, perhaps many more powers... no one knows how many he's absorbed since the War of the Best. But, there's a power that can match all those powers, aboard this ship, that showed itself during the War of the Best behind you."_

" _There is?" Luffy blinked. "A power that can beat multiple Devil Fruit powers... at the War of the Best... behind me... Yusei!" the captain started._

" _Saviour Star Dragon?" Yusei tilted his head._

" _No, the other power you used, after the miracle," Ace shook his head. "A power that stole away the powers of Admiral Akainu... the power to negate Devil Fruit powers."_

" _True, if you take away the Devil Fruit powers, then what's left is a mortal man that can be cut," Zoro considered. "So... you can't be thinking what I'm considering..."_

" _Luffy," Ace was already kneeling as he continued to talk. "Lend me your handyman!"_

"Hey, hey, this is no time to relax and watch whales," Usopp complained. "Seventy percent chance of sinking! Seventy! I can't just sit around! I can't believe we have less than fifty percent chance of getting to Fishman Island... I don't see any creatures or Sea Kings that look dangerous yet... ah?"

Using binoculars, the sniper's eyes spotted a dark shadow in the distance. "There's something at six o' clock! Is it a creature? No... hey, guys! There's a ship kind of thing coming from behind!"

"What?" Zoro growled.

"A ship?" Luffy blinked.

"It's coming towards us!" Usopp announced as the ship appeared, a monster attached to it roaring.

"It's a pirate ship, pulled by a sea beast!" Ace yelled as it crashed against the Sunny's hull, holding onto his hat.

"It's a pirate ship!" Chopper echoed.

"They're pushing against us!" Usopp yelped. "Go away! The bubble's gonna pop!"

"No way!" Ace gritted his teeth. "The bubble won't pop from something like that!"

"No! They're gonna come through the bubble!" Nami gasped.

Luffy growled. "Who are they?"


	4. III:Big Wave Small Wave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously:
> 
> "We went through the photic zone, and we're at the bottom of the midnight zone," Franky observed. "It must be more than 1000 metres below now."
> 
> "It's really quiet," Robin noted. "It feels different from submersibles. It feels like flying in the sky."
> 
> "In short, we weren't wasting these two years playing around." Ace protested. "That white dragon Luffy saw is proof of that. The reason I'm here, aside from clearing the debt of the Whitebeard Pirates... is because I've got a favour to ask of the Straw Hat Pirates."
> 
> "Luffy," Ace was already kneeling as he continued to talk. "Lend me your handyman!"
> 
> "It's a pirate ship!" Chopper echoed.
> 
> "They're pushing against us!" Usopp yelped. "Go away! The bubble's gonna pop!"
> 
> "No way!" Ace gritted his teeth. "The bubble won't pop from something like that!"
> 
> "No! They're gonna come through the bubble!" Nami gasped.
> 
> Luffy growled. "Who are they?"

**III: Big Wave Small Wave**

 

"Run!" Usopp screamed as Sanji rushed for the helm.

"Hard to port!" Franky yelled as the mast of the other ship nearly poked the Sunny's bubble. Sanji grabbed the steering wheel and spun hard to the left, yet the galleon continued in pursuit.

"Go, Sea Cow!" someone aboard the other ship yelled.

"They're coming after us!" Brook panicked, already hiding on all fours.

"That sounds so familiar... ah!" Nami held on to the banisters leading to the upper side of the ship.

"They're persistent!" Zoro growled.

The pirate ship kept ramming into the Sunny, driven by the Sea Cow.

"What do they want from us?" Luffy complained.

"Stop!" Chopper yelled as he slid across the deck, the bubbles on both underwater ships vibrating.

"The bubble's gonna pop!" Usopp screamed.

"You're doing great, Sea Cow!" another voice yelled aboard.

"Yes!" a chorus joined them.

"Are they going to come aboard?" Brook screamed.

"Sea Cow?" Nami started a a moo sounded by the Sunny. "Wait a minute! That's..."

"The bubbles are joined!" someone announced onboard. "Brother, now is the chance!"

"Alright, should we do it?"

"Yes!"

"Hey, Mohmoo!" Nami called to the Sea Cow as she ran to the aft of the ship. "You're Mohmoo of the Arlong Pirates, aren't you? Do you remember me? I'm Nami! I was there at Arlong Park!"

"Arlong... Park..." Yusei frowned.

"Hm?" Sanji looked up. "Oi, Luffy, doesn't he look familiar?"

"Yeah...?" the captain looked up.

"Arlong Park?" Ace looked up. "Oh, that's... Jimbe's old _nakama_... I think... he hates humans..."

"It looks terrified," Yusei noted. "Wonder what happened to it..."

"Whoa! He's coming through the bubble!" Luffy was distracted by the appearance of a dark-skinned pirate with long black hair and a disgustingly long snake-like tongue out.

"Waah, somebody's coming!" Chopper panicked, jumping to hide behind Yusei.

"We gotta fight!" Franky snarled as the laughing pirate squeezed through, Zoro readying to draw his swords.

"Men, are you ready?" the enemy pirate yelled.

"Yes!"

"While they're still dumbfounded... kill them all!"

Usopp and Chopper screamed as the rest of the Straw Hats looked surprised.

"Oi, this is the worst surprise attack ever," Ace muttered.

"That's a bit unfair, Ace," Aki noted. "They've never dealt with flip monsters before."

"Men! Follow my lead!" the pirate landed on the deck.

" _What?_ " the pirates on the other ship yelled as the Sea Cow made double-time to swim away.

"Kehehehe!" the other pirate laughed. "Alright, by way of greeting, fire the Gatling gun! Kill all the Straw Hats and..."

"Seems familiar, that guy," Ace frowned as Yusei pulled a sheaf of bounties.

"'Wet-Haired' Caribou, co-captain of the Caribou Pirates," Yusei read out. "Two hundred and ten million Beli."

"That's the same as you," Aki observed.

"Nah, I'd think Yusei would be a bigger threat than him," Ace replied as the rest of the Straw Hats kept quiet in the resulting silence.

"Eh?" Caribou slowly turned behind himself to look at the empty sea where the other ship once was. Franky strolled over, grabbing Caribou and hoisting him overhead, as if to throw.

"No! Don't throw me into the water!" Caribou yelled. "That's something you shouldn't you, above all! You have to value people's lives! The gods... the gods are watching over you! Don't you think so?"

Franky threw him onto the deck-lawn again with a crash. "You're being inconsistent! Weren't you gonna fire a Gatling gun and kill us all!"

"No, that was just... that was just a play on words," the other pirate weakly replied.

"That wasn't playing," Sanji growled.

"Who are you?" Zoro walked over. "You must be the captain of the ship."

"Ah, Roronoa Zoro!" Caribou got to all fours in a begging position. "No way! I'm not a captain! I'm just... I was forced to e a slave for them! Oh, I'm sick of being on that ship!"

"He's making ridiculous excuses," Usopp muttered.

"Oh yeah! This is great! Can I stay on this ship for a little while?" Caribou kept appealing to Luffy. "Please?"

"Well, he is kind of pathetic..." Chopper said.

"No way! He just made it up!" Usopp yelled.

" _What? He just made it up?_ " the doctor was taken aback.

"Ne, where did you find the Sea Cow who was drawing your ship?" Nami walked down the stairs from the upper part of the ship.

"Oh..." Caribou licked his lips. "Here is... mm... Cutie San. You're the Cat Burglar, aren't you?"

Sanji kicked him in the face. "Stop looking at our navigator like that!" He gave a thumbs up as Caribou fell. "Nami San! You're safe... now!"

"That's getting to be a pain!" Usopp screamed as the force of his nosebleed sent Sanji rocketing out.

"I just caught that sea monster somewhere..." Caribou muttered in reply. "Experienced people have those animals pull their ship."

"That's partly correct," Ace explained. "Ships usually catch and tame Sea Beasts for pulling their ships. Well, you can do fine with just the sails and the sea currents, but if you want greater mobility, one option is to tame a Sea Beast or a whale to draw the ship. They also serve as an extra defence just in case."

"What?" Luffy exclaimed. "Is that so? I wanna find a sea monster..."

"Hey, Luffy! What are you up to?" Nami scolded.

"Oh, it's just a turtle... it's too small."

"Come on!" Nami sighed.

"Maybe Stardust can pull the ship," Ace grinned.

"Oh, cool!" You could literally see the captain's imagination in overdrive. "Yusei, call Stardust!"

"Stardust can't swim in water," Yusei explained.

"Eh..." Luffy sulked.

"Ah! Fire Fist Ace!" Caribou yelled. "Why the hell are you here?"

Ace sighed. "Take it that... I'm up here as a favour... because I wanted to borrow something from the ship..."

_The captain himself stood in silence as the rest of the crew absorbed the nature of the request._

" _Oi!" Sanji looked angry. "We only just reunited and you want to borrow our handyman already? Are you an idiot, or did the past two years rot what brains you-!"_

" _Okay."_

" _Luffy San!" Aki glared at the captain._

" _Had-! Oi, Luffy!" Sanji turned to the rubber captain. "Are you-!"_

" _But, there are conditions!" Luffy smirked, holding up one finger. "Yusei can't leave the ship, he's my_ nakama. _If you want to borrow him, even if you're my big brother, you can't take away my_ nakama _! Only my_ nakama, _part of the ship, can borrow Yusei from the ship! That's why... if you want him, you gotta be part of the ship as well!"_

" _HUH?" the rest of the crew and Ace, except Robin, yelped at this ridiculous condition._

" _Ace wants to borrow Yusei, but Yusei can't leave the ship..." Usopp frowned as he tried to make sense._

" _And Ace can't borrow Yusei without being part of the ship, that is, the crew..." Chopper mumbled as he tried to make sense of the thing._

" _...you can be surprisingly cunning when he puts his mind to it," Zoro commented, half asleep._

_Nami's eyes widened in realisation. "Then, that means... Ace has to join the crew to borrow Yusei!"_

" _But, the crew can't leave the ship either!" Franky pointed out, stunned. "The crew follows the captain except on captain's orders! That's a fact of being a pirate!"_

" _So... to borrow Yusei San, the captain's brother has to join the crew and remain as part of the agreement..." Brook considered._

"And you joined just because of that?" the hardened pirate stared at him.

Ace sighed in agreement. "When faced with a little brother like this...

" _What kind of condition is_ that _?" Ace retorted, even though he remained kneeling. "Even if you're my brother, that kind of condition is just_ unreasonable _!"_

" _What? It's a fact," Luffy pouted, eyes wide. "Join my crew, please, Ace~?"_

" _Don't pull the innocent 'please, O Nii Chan, this is your brother asking you of this' face!" Ace yelled back. "Don't you know what you're asking? You're asking me to abandon the Whitebeard Pirates and join your small crew! What will I do anyway? Your crew's already got its positions filled, you don't need me for anything!"_

" _What I don't need it doesn't equal what I don't want!" Luffy yelled back, a blazing aura around him. "And what I want is Ace! Every day, I trained on that island with old man Rayleigh, just because that time I almost lost you opened my eyes! The only reason why Ace isn't dead is because Yusei did a miracle! Even if Ace is strong... even if Ace's got his on crew, his own nakama... I don't want Ace to leave!"_

_Half the crew froze in shock, the other half in stares, and everyone stood stunned as to what the captain just yelled._

" _...it feels like we've just intruded into some... private... matter between brothers..." Robin half-smiled._

" _Is this what they call 'brotherly love'...?" Nami muttered, touching her face. "Seems like it went a bit far..."_

" _I'm not over-reading this, I'm not over-reading this..." Usopp was curling up on the ground, sucking his thumb. "Inappropriate thoughts, begone..."_

_Zoro stared at them. "T- That idiot..."_

_A cigarette fell from Sanji's fingers to the lawn. "I can't believe he's actually capable of saying such things..."_

" _Uwaaaahhh! Waah!" Franky was crying. "Such sweet love between brothers! I'm not crying, dammit!"_

" _Yohohoho... My eyes would pop from surprise, but I have no eyes...!" Brook was laughing his head off. "Look, Nii Chan's turned to stone!"_

" _He was so stunned he froze into stone," Aki noted, poking the hardened flesh of Portgas D. Ace who had turned into granite from shock. "Incredible..."_

" _So, you're joining!" Luffy's face set. "Silence means yes!"_

" _Ha..." Ace choked, the stone quivering. "Ha..."_

_Zoro placed a hand on Ace's shoulder. "Give up. There's no swaying him."_

" _I know, I've spent half my life around him," Ace growled, finally back to normal._

_Luffy grinned. "Welcome aboard, Ace!"_

" _Oi!"_

"So, this idiot older brother caved to his younger brother's wishes..." Zoro muttered.

"Chopper San, I think shock therapy is the only way to handle him..." Aki suggested as both doctors debated Sanji's condition.

"Oi, Nami. The direction we're heading is slightly off from where the Log Pose is pointing," Usopp called.

"Yeah, that's fine," Nami replied. "The right course should be south-west of where it's pointing."

"It's faster to go straight. Why should we do that?" Luffy blinked.

"If you go straight, you'd be taken away by the sea current and get stuck by an underwater mountain or volcano."

"EH? Volcano! It's scary to be in the water!" Chopper screeched.

"But I thought the sea currents in the Grand Line were volatile," Usopp asked. "Is there any stable current?"

"There's only one," Nami answered as she put on her jacket.

"This is good," Zoro growled as he finished tying up Caribou. "Stay."

"Everyone!" Nami called. "It's gonna get colder from here, so wear a coat or something."

"Ah," Aki draped on a thicker coat than her own trench coat, Yusei switched out for a blue winter jacket, and Ace wore a black jacket.

"Yes, it's getting chilly, I can feel it on my skin," Brook shivered. "Oh, but I-"

"You're a skeleton, you don't have skin," Chopper pointed out.

Brook sank down, depressed. "Chopper San, you can't do that... You can't steal my line...

"Skeleton!" Ace started, cracking his knuckles.

"Stop!" Yusei grabbed onto the dark-haired man before flames could appear. "He's not a monster! Sorry, everyone, but, after our time in Kuraigana Island his first reaction to skeletons is to set them on fire."

"... what did you go through these two years?" Luffy sat cross-legged in front of them. "Tell me~!"

"...yes."

"Brother complex," Yusei and Franky nodded in recognition to Ace's defeated look.

"Are we going somewhere cold?" Zoro asked the navigator. "Not the deep sea?"

"Don't you know that the water in the deep sea is cold?" Franky drawled from the stern. "Like in a bath tub, hot water goes up and cold water goes down."

"Oh?" Luffy began to pick his nose. "I'm not a big fan of baths so I wouldn't know."

"And I remember when you were a brat, you really enjoyed baths," Ace drawled mockingly.

"Well, Ace was always there, right?" Luffy grinned back.

Zoro stared at both the D. brothers. "...this is getting more into the realms of the inappropriate brotherly relationship..."

"We were kids!"

"I see," Usopp punched his palm. "If the sea's like a bath tub, it's gonna get colder as you go deeper."

"The temperature isn't the only difference," Brook added, still on his knees.

" _You're still depressed?_ "

"In the deep layer of the sea, there are giant currents called deep currents that you don't get to see very often," Brook explained. "Those currents flow totally independent from surface currents."

"There are currents under currents?" Usopp asked in awe. "You know many things!"

"Yohohoho! Because I'm really old!" Brook agreed.

"All currents are connected," Franky agreed. "One current flows eastward and the other one flows westward. They could also flow upwards or downwards. It's like a giant dragon."

"Deep currents flow really slowly," Brook added. "Once they flow to the deep sea, it takes two thousand years until they flow upward to the surface."

"Two thousand years?" echoed the three simple-minded.

"Yes, that's why there are a number of myths about the dark and undiscovered deep currents." Brook eerily murmured. "Monsters! Curses! Spirits of the dead!"

" _What? There are ghosts in the deep sea?_ " Chopper screamed.

"Huh? Really? I'm scared!" Brook joined him.

"It's exciting!" Luffy cheered.

"No matter how scary the ocean bottom is..." Shadows showed themselves around the older D.'s face. "It can't compare to those monsters faced over the past two years...!"

"What the hell were you guys fighting...?" Franky muttered at seeing the super rookie pirate cackle madly.

"We were in a cemetery, and then these skeletons rose from their graves and tried to attack us," Aki shivered. "Yusei kept calm and used his monsters to chase them away, though."

"...poker face," Franky muttered. "Even in Thriller Bark, he never so much as flinched when seeing those zombies..."

"Ghosts... I don't know about that," Nami sighed. "But we're gonna got on a downward flow. That's how we get to the deep sea."

"Deep layer..." Luffy echoed.

"Surface..." Zoro followed.

"Downward flow..." Usopp then started.

"Submerge..." Chopper said.

"Twang-twang!" Brook got ready his guitar.

Green tea was poured out for all four of them. "So there are wonderful currents..."

" _You guys didn't understand a bit, did you?_ " Nami barked as badly-painted flowers fluttered around them. (How those flowers even appeared must be attributed to the mysteries of the ages.)

"Yohohoho!" Brook laughed. "Do you want to sing with me, Nami San?"

"Shut up!"

Yusei hid a smile behind a cup of tea. "They haven't changed a bit..."

"As expected of my brother's crew," Ace cheered as he accepted a cup while a bubbling sound could be heard. "Eh...? the currents..."

"What's that sound?" Chopper perked up as Robin and Franky began to notice the disturbance too.

"This is it!" Robin stood up from her watch on the stern. "Nami, I see it!"

"Really?" Nami called back.

"The mystery current?" Luffy leapt to run, the rest of the simple-minded following. "Where is it?"

"That's cool!" Franky shouted as he held the steering wheel.

"Oh!" Chopper cooed.

"What is that?" Sanji leaned on his IV drip even as he struggled over.

"So that's the downward current," Zoro admired.

Nami nodded. "The downward flow – plume!"

Luffy poked his face near the bubble. "So... cool!"

Usopp grinned. "It's like a massive... waterfall in the sea!"

"Interesting!" Luffy yelled in awe as the underwater 'waterfall'. "The sea is falling far below at an extraordinary speed!"

"Even in a world without gravity, the power behind this can still be appreciated," Yusei admired.

"Nature's great!" Franky agreed loudly.

"What a spectacular stream!" Robin praised. "I wonder how deep it is."

"It's far greater than I had heard," Brook murmured in awe.

"I can't see the bottom! It's completely dark!" Usopp finally noticed. "We're dead! With that speed, we're gonna be slammed into the bottom and die!"

"You're exaggerating, Usopp San," Yusei answered. "With the bowl-like shape of the Sunny, we'll probably gain enough drag to slow down the ship. That's why, we'll just crash against the ocean floor, and the ship could probably keep together."

"And the bubble will pop!" Usopp yelled back. "We'll die!"

"Is it really okay to go with this flow?" Nami turned to Franky.

"Don't worry about the ship," Franky assured her. "Sunny is the strongest ship built from the treasure tree Adam."

"Adam Wood?" Ace doubtfully looked at the ship with new-found respect. "The _entire_ ship? Amazing! Though knowing my brother, he'll find a way to damage it anyway..."

"Alright!" Luffy declared. "Advance!"

Some intuition caused Yusei to squint downwards, towards the bottomless depths, and he would swear that he saw a pair of glowing lamp-like eyes within the abyss of the water...

"Straw Hats! You should turn back!" Caribou began to yell. "It's dangerous down there!"

"I'd forgotten about you," Zoro drawled as he looked down.

"There's a monster!" the other pirate yelled.

"EEHH?" Chopper began to scream.

"What're you talking about? Cut the crap!" Usopp drawled. "Those myths are just made up by someone."

"Oh," Ace smirked as he looked. "It's the demon of the deep..."

"Ah," almost all the Straw Hats stated as they stared at something behind Usopp, amidst the floating ship debris and drowned bodies.

Chopper squeaked, holding onto Brook. "It's... it's right there..."

"Cut it out, guys!" Usopp scolded.

"B- Behind you..." Nami stuttered, pointing.

"What are you saying..." Usopp shut up. "Be... Behind me?"

"Uh," Chopper looked ready to cry.

Very slowly, Usopp turned back. "Behind me...

The giant orange octopus at least ten times the size of the ship roared as if in reply.

" _AH_! It's the Kraken!"

"GYAAAAHHH!"

"How huge! The monster octopus!" Usopp yelled.

"Looks like he broke a lot of ships!" Franky observed. "Ships that had left for the New World have been attacked!"

"Please! I don't wanna die! Go back!" Caribou actually hopped up the steps towards the stern. "If you wait just a few days, it would-"

"Shut up!" Luffy retorted. "I have a good idea!"

"It'll run along the lines of 'I wanna tame that beast'," Ace predicted.

"Let's tame him!"

Every one of the Straw Hats stared at their captain. "Hah?"

"What did you say, Luffy?" Usopp pointed at him.

"Let's tame the octopus and make him pull our ship!"

"No way!" Usopp grabbed Luffy and pull him over. "Take a good look! No, you don't have to take a good look since it's huge!"

"Oh, it's big!" Luffy said in awe.

"We're dead!" Chopper began to cry.

"It must've been around for several hundred years!" Usopp continued. "The Kraken appears in many myths in the world – It's like a visionary creature!"

"It has no bones and I'm a skeleton without any flesh..." Brook sat on the swing attached on deck, a cup of tea with saucer in hand. "It's the polar opposite of me."

"I don't care!" Usopp retorted.

Yusei looked back at the skeleton musician. "Stoic in the face of death... huh."

"You're quite good," Franky was saying to Robin, who had donned a white fur coat.

Robin nodded to reply. "You can't see this kind of thing often, so..."

"Sketching? How relaxed!" Chopper exclaimed.

"I'll help you, but do you have any plan, Luffy?" Zoro drawled.

"The problem is that we're in the sea," Luffy considered.

"No. No. No." Usopp waved a hand in surrender. "The problem is the size of it. It'd be dangerous even if we were on land."

"Actually, Luffy San's right," Yusei held up a few diagrams. "On land, the effect of gravity is per normal, so land creatures have to have a limit on their size otherwise they'll be held down by their own weight. However, in the sea, where the effect of gravity is decreased to one-third of the Earth's normal gravitational pull, creatures can grow much bigger without any effect on their mobility. If we were fighting the kraken on land, gravity would have weighed it down such that it couldn't fight back even if it wanted to."

"No one asked for a biology lesson!"

"Shift the helm to the south!" Nami ordered.

"Oi, Nami, go straight for the octopus!" Luffy argued.

"Don't be a fool!" Nami retorted. "The octopus will-"

"Whoa, whoa, Nami San. I'm here for..." Sanji paused, face completely red. "...here for..." his cheeks puffed out before he turned away, and a spraying sound was issued into a hand. "...for you!"

"You held it! Good job!"

"So, which way to deal with it?" Ace looked down at the giant orange octopus.

"No matter how you look at it, it's rather difficult," Yusei noted. "It's a giant octopus, without bones to break and completely muscle. If I recall, octopi also possess great mobility in water and blunt force won't be very effective on it. Maybe we can half-cook it."

"What is this, a cooking class?" Usopp yelled at them.

"Something's coming from behind!" Franky was using his smaller hands to hold up a pair of binoculars. Everyone started as a moo sounded far away.

"They came back!" Usopp yelped.

"Coribou! Men!" Caribou ran to peer over. "You came back to save me, huh?"

The Kraken reached out a hand and began to squeeze the coated ship tightly, causing the bubble to inflate on either end of the suckered tentacle.

"Don't do it!" Caribou yelled, right before there was a pop.

Some of the Straw Hats screamed.

"The coating popped!" Chopper screeched.

"The ship is even bigger than the Sunny!" Usopp screamed.

"Oh... men!" Caribou began to cry.

"They look like a school of jellyfish," Zoro dispassionately observed.

"Shut up, Roronoa! Cut it out!"

"It's coming!" Usopp yelled as the Kraken swam towards them at a speed that thoroughly belied its size.

Chopper raised both hands, er, hooves. "It's too big!"

"How can we fight against it?" Nami moaned.

Zoro and Luffy prepared to fight. " _Gear Third_..."

"No!" Usopp reverse-tackled them down. "You'll break the bubble!"

" _Chicken Voyage!_ " Franky got to the console as a tentacle was raised to swat at the Sunny.

"Oh, it went backwards!" Ace grinned as the Sunny barely escaped.

"Can we... get away somehow?" Nami freaked as the next tentacle nearly hit.

"Don't do anything! I'll beat it!" Luffy declared.

"No!" Chopper landed on him. "You'll break the bubble!"

"Too bad we don't have someone onboard capable of Flutter Kick Coating," Ace sighed. "That looks good to eat."

"I forgot to buy that..." Yusei sank in a corner, depressed. "The coating..."

"We don't need it!" Franky tried to comfort the man.

"Listen! If you wanna fight against it that much, here's an idea!" Caribou yelled in desperation.

Luffy looked at him. "What's it? Tell me."

"Okay, that's good!" Caribou declared a few moments later once Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Ace were outfitted in large bubbles. "That's the extra-vehicular Flutter Kick Coating! An extra-vehicular diving suit! As long as you're in it, you can fight as long as you want even in water!"

"You shouldn't do something unnecessary!" Usopp raged. "We wanted to run away! Now, they're gonna fight!"

"I told you guys from the beginning but the Captain won't listen!" Caribou retorted. "Would you rather they fought on the ship?"

Usopp changed his tune after that. "Okay, good luck! Go far away!"

"This rope is troublesome," Luffy complained.

"Stay away from this ship!" Nami called.

"I think it's time to test out a new card," Yusei noted.

"Oh?" Aki nodded. "Let's."

"Ah," Luffy replied. "Okay, let's go!"

"Yeah!" the other three agreed as they ran for the deck.

"Wait! You have to attach the safety rope!" Nami yelled as they leapt for the water. "You'll be separated!"

"We'll watch them," Aki drew a few cards. "I'll maintain a few traps."

"Are they okay?" Chopper watched fearfully from the ship.

"Stay as far away as you can!" Usopp yelled. "Even a few millimetres..." Usopp and Chopper screamed. "But it's attacking us!"

"Tornado Wall!" An undersea torrent dived down, interrupting the tentacle in time. "How does it attack directly...?" Yusei considered.

"Yusei, you saved us!" Usopp cheered.

"Move, you guys!" Franky yelled as another tentacle swept up, his shoulder plating opening to reveal a few armed heads. " _Franky... Rocket Launcher!_ "

"Got it!" Usopp cheered as the rockets explode against the tentacles.

"How powerful!" Chopper exclaimed.

"No, another arm!" both screamed.

"Why does he keep attacking us?" Chopper whined.

"It's gonna hit us!" Nami yelled.

" _Guard Point!_ " Chopper leapt up, growing in size to block the tentacle. "Are you guys okay?"

"H- He did it!" Usopp stared.

"Well done!" Franky called.

"Yeah, Chopper!" Nami agreed.

An angry tentacle lashed out, flicking the Sunny.

"We're gonna hit the mountain!" Brook yelped.

" _Mille Fleur!_ " Robin used her powers. " _Gigantesco Mano!_ "

"What big hands!" Chopper yelled as a pair of giant arms sprouted from the side of the ship and pushed the Sunny away.

"Yes!"

"Nice, Robin! You saved us!"

"Good," Robin sighed. "Although I'm in water, I was okay because it was just a brief moment."

"They did great," Ace noted.

"Alright, it's my turn!" Luffy turned towards the Kraken. "Here's a new technique!"

Controlled breathing ad Ace direct a look at Luffy. " _Gear Third!_ " the rubber-man took a deep breath as he bit his thumb.

* * *

" _Armament; Hardening!_ "

Ace whistled as the inflated giant arm turned entirely grey. "Haki, huh?"

"I feel weak because of the sea!" Luffy complained.

"Damn that octopus! Is it trying to stop him?" Sanji hissed, beside Ace. " _Blue Walk!_ "

"Whoa, Sanji San got out of the bubble!" Back on the Sunny, Brook exclaimed.

"That's really fast! He's like a Fishman! That's so cool!" Usopp yelped.

" _Diable Jambe!_ " Sanji spun as he ran at the Kraken, his right leg glowing red. " _Bien Cuit: Grill Shot!_ "

The Kraken moaned in pain, eyes bulging, as one arm was completely grilled on impact.

" _Santouryuu Ougi: Rokudo no Tsuji!_ " Zoro sliced another tentacle to bits as Sanji escaped. "The demon that rules the realm of water... so weak! I'm still gonna get stronger!"

"Don't do unnecessary things!" Sanji growled.

"Did you say something, number seven?"

"I'll kill you!"

"Bring it on!"

"Don't worry, it's got six more legs," Ace looked up as he broke a small metal canister, the metal giving way with a hiss. "So, we got _teppanyaki_ , we got _sashimi._.. I think we're missing a soup."

"Oi, how's he gonna attack?" Zoro snorted as Ace burst into orange flames. "We're underwater."

"Every day spent fighting crazy monsters... sometimes, you find yourself turning into one," Ace grinned as the flames swirled, growing smaller and smaller until...

Sanji looked at the Devil Fruit user. "A blue flame?"

" _Souen_!" Ace smirked as he aimed a round blue flame on the tip of one finger at the Kraken. " _Higan_ : _Ryuusei!_ "

" _Hah?_ " Everyone aboard the Sunny started as the round blue flame shot forward and up through the seas to the Kraken. "Is that even possible?"

"That metal canister..." Franky squinted. "Yusei, did you create that?"

"Well, during our trip, a _certain someone_ kept drowning," Aki explained, throwing a meaningful look at the bubble containing Ace. "So, we told him to close his mouth if he were ever to enter sea water, and Yusei invented a few oxygen canisters just in case. To persuade Ace to carry them around, Yusei told him about the possibilities of using flames in higher oxygen concentrations and greater control, with the result right before you."

"But, won't the flame be extinguished once it reaches the water?" Nami asked, confused.

"The temperature of a blue flame reaches to the nine-hundred to sixteen-hundred degree range, theoretically," Yusei explained, using diagrams again. "At the speed the bullet is travelling now, the surrounding water is super-heated and..."

Bubble erupted around the bullet as it impacted, the Kraken reeling back and screaming in pain.

"Then, the temperature of the surroundings, along with the extremely hot bullet, burns the opponent," Yusei concluded as parts of the Kraken turned red and blotchy and it clutched as a tentacle in pain. "In short, this technique would literally boil the Kraken."

"Hey, hey, Zoro, Sanji, Ace! You can't attack his arms!" Luffy yelled at them. " _Gomu Gomu no... Elephant Gun!_ " One armed fist was swung to whack the Kraken in the head.

"He knocked it out!" Usopp yelped.

"He's gotten so much stronger!" Nami exclaimed.

"Even while in the sea..." Brook stared.

"I guess Luffy San applied enough force," Yusei shrugged.

"Poker face..." the Straw Hats muttered.

Chopper started as something came out of the giant blow-holes of the Kraken. "Hey! Something's in there!"

"Eh?" Everyone on the Sunny started.

"A shark?" Chopper squinted.

"A shark?" Luffy echoed, cradling his arm as the shark swam out.

"Isn't that shark wearing something?" Sanji noted.

"It looks familiar..." Ace frowned.

"That's fairly big," Zoro growled.

"What's up?' Luffy muttered as the shark swam against the underwater current, seemingly to nod at them.

"Thanking us for helping him?" Zoro grumbled.

"What a polite shark," Sanji commented.

"What?" Luffy finally noticed as the four individual bubbles, the unconscious Kraken and the shark were bobbing along the current.

"We're being drawn into the sea current!" Sanji realised.

"Luffy, let's go back to Sunny!" Zoro called.

"Yeah!"

"The currents' too fast!" Yusei struggled as they were drawn into the powerful near-waterfall. "Aki!"

"Compulsory Evacuation- Ah!" the cards flew out of her hands as the Thousand Sunny got caught.

"They've been swept away by the downward current!" Robin exclaimed as Franky ran for the console.

"Oh, no!" Usopp yelled. "Follow them! We have to stay together!"

"Yeah!" Franky hollered back.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Screams sounded as the Sunny dropped into the underwater chasm with the force of the currents.

"I don't wanna die here!" Chopper screamed as he bounced around.

Caribou rolled about as he was thrown by the ship's rocking. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"You're still here?" Franky commented as he was thrown about too.

"You're too calm!" Usopp pointed at him.

"We're rocking down at an incredibly fast speed," Aki said as she was tied around the waist down with a safety rope.

Yusei assisted the other women to tie safety lines. "Yes, we are. Usopp San's prediction might even come true."

"Poker face!" Usopp pointed at him.

"My eyes are spinning! But I don't have eyes!"

"Keep the yard level! Hard to port! We're gonna crash into the continental shelf!" Nami called from her grip on the deck.

"I got it!" Franky managed to get to the helm in time to grab the wildly spinning wheel.

"Don't lose your concentration, or the ship will wreck!" Nami called in warning.

"What?" Chopper yelled as he bounced around.

Yusei began to chuckle under his breath. "I've forgotten... how life-threatening these adventures are..."

"Don't get thrown off!" Usopp held onto the rigging with Yusei helping out, Brook, Robin and Chopper at the other mast.

"Stay in the centre of the current!" Nami ordered.

"Got it!" Franky yelled back. "It's really fast!"

By the bubbles bobbing along, Luffy laughed. "This is interesting!"

"Yeah!" Ace chuckled as he floated about. "We're flying!"

Even as the ship was hurtling down towards a potential watery death, Yusei kept smiling even as he held onto the rope connecting to the mast, throwing himself back to the flow of the world... into the seas of adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the 'Souen' Mera Mera series is created by yours truly, I have no idea if any OP fans out there has already created such a move, my apologies to anybody who had who reads this, tell me and I'll give credit where it deserves. Seeing as Ace is already dead in canon, any new moves in future will be strictly fan-created.
> 
> 'Higan' exists in the animé, I'm not sure about the manga, and it also represents a dual nature of fire, I think, either to be a great conflagration of destruction, or a focused weapon of creation. It's up to the imagination.
> 
> 'Ryuusei' is the Japanese word for meteor. At the time of writing, I was just thinking of a name for a small flame that burns and terrifies and sounds cool. This came up.
> 
> With that said, I hope that dear readers will stay tuned for the next chapter!


	5. IV: Forgotten Capital Lemuria

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously:
> 
> "Hey, hey, Zoro, Sanji, Ace! You can't attack his arms!" Luffy yelled at them. "Gomu Gomu no... Elephant Gun!" One armed fist was swung to whack the Kraken in the head.
> 
> "The currents' too fast!" Yusei struggled as they were drawn into the powerful near-waterfall. "Aki!"
> 
> "Compulsory Evacuation- Ah!" the cards flew out of her hands as the Thousand Sunny got caught.
> 
> "They've been swept away by the downward current!" Robin exclaimed as Franky ran for the console.
> 
> "Oh, no!" Usopp yelled. "Follow them! We have to stay together!"
> 
> "Yeah!" Franky hollered back.
> 
> "AAAAHHHHH!" Screams sounded as the Sunny dropped into the underwater chasm with the force of the currents.
> 
> Even as the ship was hurtling down towards a potential watery death, Yusei kept smiling even as he held onto the rope connecting to the mast, throwing himself back to the flow of the world... into the seas of adventure.

"Usopp!"

"Ow, ow ow ow!" Usopp rubbed the large bump on his head. "Nami? I'm alive!" he blinked at the crew present. "What? Why are you all so glum? Oh I know! You guys can't do anything without me..." the sniper started. "It's so cold here!"

"We can't find Luffy and the others," Robin informed him. "We got separated."

"What?" Usopp stared.

"I hope they haven't been shredded into pieces by the monster," Robin continued stoically.

"-.- Your imagination is terrifying..."

"Anyway, it looks like we're still sinking," Aki shivered, even as Yusei offered her his own coat.

"It's too dark – I wanna look for them but I can't see anything!" Usopp complained.

"I'm not good with darkness," Brook agreed. "I feel something, don't you?"

"Yeah," Yusei agreed.

"We've probably submerged around seven thousand metres," Franky noted. "Even the Shark Submerge can't take the pressure this deep."

"Are we near the Fishman Island?" Chopper piped up. "Maybe they got there already..."

"Keimi Chan said it's located at ten thousand metres below sea level," Robin answered.

" _We have to submerge three thousand metres more?_ "

"All they have is a small bubble," Usopp fretted. "Even if they're alive, there isn't enough air so it's dangerous!"

"That's why I told them to attach the safety rope!" Nami complained. "

"The bubble is very durable," Yusei shook his head. "Two like those bubbles survived the War of the Best in Marineford, the sea current is nothing compared to that. We must have faith, that they'll be fine."

"We won't accomplish anything standing around like this," Franky said. "Let's look for them I now have a search-light."

" _What?_ " Usopp and Chopper brightened visibly.

"Is it your eyes?" Chopper asked as Franky lifted his sunglasses.

" _Franky... Nipple Lights!_ "

"Why _there?_ " Usopp slapped the air.

"Oh?" Robin looked up.

"T- That's huge!" Usopp stared at the sea creatures floating overhead.

"Terrifying!" Chopper squeaked.

Brook screamed.

"N- No way..." Nami stuttered.

Even Franky had his jaw open at the sight. "That's..."

Needless to say, almost everyone freaked at the sight of giant sea creatures.

"Let's get away!" Franky manoeuvred the ship to sink further.

"Just look all around," Franky called as the Sunny's own search-lights, in the lion figurehead's eyes, lit up. "They must be looking for us too."

"Luffy! Zoro! Sanji! Ace!" Usopp yelled across the blue-black waters.

"Where did you go...?" Chopper moaned. "Come back!"

"Luffy San! Zoro San! Sanji San!" Brook joined them.

"Dammit!" Franky swore. "In this vast, submerged expanse, the Sunny Eyes don't help that much."

"We're stuck..." Brook muttered. "The darkness is stirring up our anxiety."

"In fact, we're not getting anywhere. What should we do?" Usopp said in agreement.

"We can't stop the ship, so try not to overlook anything," Nami replied.

"There should be some trace of them," Robin added. "Let's find them."

"Yeah..."

The Sunny continued its descent even as the crew searched around.

"Oh, it's a jellyfish!" Chopper gasped as he looked up. "There's a massive jellyfish above us!"

"That's huge!" Brook looked up. "You're right! They're twinkling! Like stars in the night!"

"It's beautiful..." Chopper sighed as one of its tentacles poked through the bubble. "Oh, a tentacle! D- Do you wanna be my friend?"

"Don' touch it, Chopper!" Robin called to the tiny doctor. "It's probably venomous!"

Chopper freaked out as the tentacle hovered closer.

"Oh no!" Franky yelped as a giant fish swam towards them. "A little... _Coup de Burst!_ "

"Wh- what?" Usopp and Chopper yelped as the giant fish chomped down on the jellyfish left behind. "The jellyfish got eaten!"

"Oh, we lost some air," Brook noted.

"Better than getting eaten!" Franky yelled back. "Coup de Burst is a weapon that shoots a fair amount of air. But since we're in the water, we only have a limited amount of air. So when we shoot the air out, the bubble shrinks!"

"I see," Brook nodded in understanding. "But, it makes me nervous to see the bubble shrinking."

"We have a few air canisters in the Black Bird," Yusei added. "But, I was thinking that since the Black Bird would function more as an emergency transport in the case of severe injuries, the air canisters should not be touched until absolutely necessary."

"The fish that bit the jellyfish turned upside down!" Chopper yelped as he looked over.

"So they contain a neurotoxin as I thought," Robin said.

"The deep sea's scary! It's dark too..." Chopper cried. "There are a lot of fish with white eyes... it's creepy here!"

"The dark is only scary since we don't know what's inside," Yusei told the reindeer kindly. "Be brave, Chopper San. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean you should fear it wildly."

"Yusei..." Chopper turned teary eyes to the handyman. "Yusei~!"

Brook mildly sipped a cup of tea. "Since the deep sea is always dark, there are many creatures with rudimentary eyes."

Chopper sighed in relief. "So they can't see well."

Usopp stuck his tongue out. "Fools! See this? Come here!"

"But there are some with developed eyes too," Robin mentioned coolly as an electric eel shocked Usopp and Chopper only centimetres away, both falling back in shock.

"What's that? How can I see things without eyes? Do you people wanna know why?" Brook chuckled softly. "The answer is... tum, tum, tum, tum, tum... a secret!"

"Are you talking to yourself?" Franky stated.

"No problem, I'm used to being lonely," Brook replied.

"Hey! Stop fooling around and look for them!" _Pow! Pow! Pow!_

"Why did I get hit?" Brook complained.

"Luffy! Zoro! Sanji! Ace! Where are you?" Usopp and Chopper dutifully began to call.

"Oh?" Brook picked up a few loops of strong rope. "The rope must be... Everyone."

"Huh?" Franky leaned over from his place on the helm.

"Have you seen that pirate guy?"

"Oh yeah! He's still here!" Franky realised. "I totally forgot about him."

"Where did he go?" Chopper looked around.

"I haven't seen him since we got this deep," Robin noted.

"Maybe he got thrown off during the downward pull," Chopper suggested.

"That could be it!" Usopp agreed. "His hands and legs were tied up so he couldn't do anything."

"Well, but... he untied himself," Brook held up the rope. "See?"

"Waah!" both started.

"T- Then, he's somewhere on the ship?" Usopp stuttered. "Where is he?"

"He's got to be hiding somewhere..." Nami sighed.

"What?" Chopper yelped.

"Oh, no..."

Aki, peacefully seated on the lawn, merely eyed a nearby barrel that Yusei was casually approaching from behind.

"Damn, we have enough problems already, but now we have to look for him also," Usopp grumbled.

"Who cares!" Franky shrugged. "He's not that strong anyway."

"Partial summon, Rose Tentacles," Aki murmured, as thick thorny vines rose around her to slither towards the barrel. The vines reached as Franky and Yusei positioned themselves by Caribou's eye level and waited for him to realise their presence.

Blink. Blink.

Round eyes slowly swivelled to look at Franky, and then at Yusei, then at the vines which cracked slightly to show sharp thorns, before Caribou slowly sank into the barrel and closed the lid. More silence...

"Here he is!"

Pounding nails into a screaming barrel was a whole new experience, but Yusei had been onboard the Thousand Sunny before and treated it as one of many new experiences other pirate crews never got to try.

"Oh no! Shit! Dammit!"

"Now he can't get away," Franky stood with one foot on the sealed barrel with satisfaction.

"How did he get in there?" Brook asked.

"We weren't paying attention," Franky answered. "If he wasn't so stupid, and if not for two of us watching him, we could be in danger now. His body wasn't taking form, it'd melted like mud."

"Like mud?" Robin narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a Devil Fruit power," Franky drawled. "He must've eaten a Logia type fruit. He was only pretending to be caught!"

"Oi, get me out of here, mister! Mister in swim-shorts!" the barrel yelled. "I'll become your servant! Shooting Star! I'll become your slave!"

"I wonder how he managed to identify me," Yusei sighed.

"Seeing you ride a dragon, even the biggest idiot would recognise you after Marineford, Yusei," Franky drawled.

After a while as everyone ignored the shouting barrel, Chopper sank down, tongue out.

"What's the matter, Chopper?" Franky looked at the tiny doctor.

"I don't know. It feels hot all of a sudden." Chopper laid out on his back. "I can't stand the heat."

"It's hot!" Usopp took off his coat. "What happened?" He blinked. "W- What's this? Smoke? It's blocking our view forward!" Almost the whole crew gathered at the stern at that.

"Smoke from the sea floor? Why?" Chopper moaned.

Nami paled. "This... it could be... hydrothermal deposits!"

"Huh?" Usopp blinked.

"A volcanic area in the sea!"

" _What?_ "

"Look, you can see that there were volcanic eruptions here!"

"Let's get away from here!" Franky ran for the console. "If it erupts, we're gonna die!"

Despite great faith in Stardust Dragon, Yusei was not prepared to face a volcanic eruption yet. "Ah! Chopper San?"

"It's hot... it's hot... huh?" Chopper looked down. "Something's after us!"

"Carnivorous tube-worms!" Usopp screamed.

"We can't help it," Franky growled. "A little Coup de Burst!"

" _Ah!_ " "Faceless Crabs!"

"A little Coup de Burst!"

"I don't even know what they are!"

"A little Coup de Burst!"

"The deep sea's scary!"

"You know... we could have gotten Yusei's monsters to fight them off," Usopp realised.

" _What?_ " the rest of the crew sans Robin and Aki yelled.

"Not possible," Yusei shook his head. "If we started a fight in such crowded areas, the rest of the sea monsters would attack us and then the bubble would really break."

"Luffy and the others can't survive here," Chopper moaned once they had skipped off again. "I'm starting to get sad. I finally got to see them after two years...

"Cut it out!" Usopp shot back. "They're not gonna die so easily!"

"I used Coup de Burst little by little, but we lost so much air," Franky looked up at the sagging bubble before his attention as stolen by a bright light. "Oh?"

"What's that? It's so bright!" Chopper pointed. "Is that the Fishman Island? D'you think Luffy and the others are there?"

"We haven't submerged another three thousand metres yet," Nami pointed out.

"Who. Are. You?" Franky sent Morse code using his 'search-lights'.

"Oi! What are you sending the flashing signals with?" Usopp slapped the air. "Do you see anything?"

"No, it's still too bright." Chopper replied.

"Bright light... deep... under the sea..." Yusei frowned. "It sounds like a giant angler fish."

"Oh no!" Franky gasped as he saw what the light was attached to.

"It's an angler! It tricked us!" Usopp yelled.

"We were fooled by the deep-sea hunter!" Brook exclaimed.

Yusei dived for the card. "Compulsory Evacuation Device, activate!"

The ship winked out of existence as the angler chomped down.

"That was close!" Usopp gasped as the Sunny reappeared a few metres away. "Eh? Yusei?"

"Nothing," Yusei shook his head. "Just a slight migraine from transporting the whole ship..."

"We're totally trapped!" Franky muttered. "Can we get away...? Eh? Ah!"

A giant shadow loomed overhead

"What is it this time?" the shipwright yelled.

"I- Is it a human?" Nami gasped.

"What the hell is that?" Chopper screamed in panic.

"A monster in the sea that looks like a man..." Usopp gasped. "Umibozu!"

Yusei stared at the 'Umibozu', which was black haired, and hairy, and looked like it had a beard and moustache. "Is it supposed to look like that...?"

"He's gonna capsize the ship!" Chopper screamed as the Umibozu raised a fist and... hit the giant angler.

"That?" Usopp yelped.

"Oi, Ankoro! You can't do that!" the Umibozu scolded. "Don't eat ships! How many times do I have to tell you that? Captain Vander Decken Sama won't like this!"

"D- Did he help us?" Nami stuttered as Usopp stared with his mouth open.

"Let's go!" Usopp recovered. "We have to get away! He's a monster too!"

Yusei drew out a card from his deck-case. "Not on our list."

Everyone;s attention soon turned towards the beat-up, run-down pirate ship flying ragged sails as it slowly entered the light.

"What the hell is that?" Usopp screamed.

" _Dead men tell no tales, they have no desire... in the dark land where even crows can't fly..._ "

"Is that... me?" Brook whispered.

" _Dead men don't need jewels on their finger... you can't even see somebody's grudges in the dark... Look for it! Look for it! Sunken treasures are mine! I am the richest person in the world – Captain Vander Decken!_ "

" _Aaah!"_ Usopp gasped. "Don't tell me it's...!"

"Even in the sea?" Nami gasped.

" _Yaaaah_!" Brook screamed. "A ghost ship?"

'You shouldn't be so scared!" Usopp slapped the skeleton til he was spinning.

"I turned! For no reason!"

"We thought you were a ghost at that moment!" Usopp yelled at him.

"The singing ghost..." Yusei nodded, recalling.

"T- That is the real one!" Brook pointed. "Look at that sail! The infamous Flying Dutchman! It shouldn't exist in the real world! It happened several hundred years ago... one stormy day, the captain of the pirate ship suddenly lost his mind and killed all his crew by throwing them into troubled waters one by one! And he even cursed the gods! The name of the captain was Vander Decken and the ship was the Flying Dutchman! The gods got mad at him and set him adrift forever under constant torture! And the ship right in front of us is the haunted ship of Captain Vander Decken!"

"Calm down!" Franky yelled as Usopp and Chopper began to run around screaming. "We thought that Brook's ship was a ghost ship but it wasn't. What we found on that ship was nothing special – just this funny skeleton!"

"Yohohoho! Franky San is harsh! And thirty degrees is hard!"

"You're right!" Nami smiled weakly. "Ghost ships aren't something that you see often."

"We just saw the kraken which was believed to be an imaginary monster, so it's not that surprising to see a ghost ship," Robin commented as she drew.

Nami, Chopper and Usopp froze in a second.

Nami turned white. "Then... maybe that's..."

"A real ghost ship!" Usopp finished.

"I'm scared!"

"Robin, you can't entertain yourself by making them upset," Franky defended as a stunned Brook fell down.

"Luffy! Zoro! Sanji! Ace!" Usopp and Chopper were crying.

"Please come back quickly!" Chopper cried.

"Shut up!" Franky yelled at them. "We have to get through this by ourselves! So Luffy and the others can come back to us!"

"I got it!" the Umibozu seemed to have gotten some order as it raised its fist.

Usopp panicked. "Oh no, the Umibozu is..."

"He's our enemy after all!" Chopper screeched.

"Franky! Use Coup de Burst!" Nami called.

"I can't! The fuel has run out!" Franky retorted. "I have to fill up with cola in the energy room!"

"We don't have time!" Nami shot back.

"No!" Usopp screeched.

"He's gonna get us!" Chopper added.

"Tornado Wall!" Yusei snapped.

The underwater cyclone started again as an orange tentacle punched the Umibozu in the face.

" _Kraken?_ " Chopper exclaimed at their unlikely saviour.

"You bastard!" the Umibozu stood up. That was before a whole Gatling of tentacles lashes were delivered by the giant orange octopus with the odd splotches of red.

"Alright, that's enough!" a voice broke in. "Stop!"

The Kraken froze, the Umibozu collapsing to the ground.

"Good job!"

Everyone stared as the octopus gave what could only be a smile and an uneasy rub with a tentacle.

"OI!" Luffy called as the lone bubble floated towards them, crowded with all four men.

"Luffy! Zoro! Sanji!" Usopp cheered.

"I'm glad you're all alive!" Chopper yelled, crying.

"What were you doing?" Nami called.

"Nami Swan~! Robin Chwan~!" Sanji yelled.

"We've been looking for you guys!" Luffy grinned, still waving. "Ace! Wake up!"

"He's _asleep!"_

"Oh, no, Sanji! He's relapsing! He needs rehab with less stimulating pictures!" Chopper searched through a stack of Polaroids as the Flying Dutchman drifted away.

"Well, Sanji's, Ace's and my bubble popped so we got into Zoro's," Luffy grinned as the Sunny was positioned on the head of the Kraken and all four got through the bubble. "i thought I was gonna die!"

"Ah! Luffy!" Ace sat up suddenly. "Oh, it was a dream..."

'Don't make us worry!" Nami complained.

"Alright, here's a song to celebrate your return," Brook started.

"Lots of space! There's no place like home!" Luffy sank on the lawn.

"Luffy! I was scared!" Chopper began to cry.

"You all have an amazing ability to survive," Franky commented.

"I can't believe it!" Nami sighed. "You really tamed the monster octopus?"

"And are you going to use the Kraken?" Robin enquired.

"Yeah, I'm gonna use him like experienced people do!" Luffy cheered. "Right, Surume?"

"That's a squid snack!" Usopp grumbled.

"My heart nearly gave out as I saw that..." Ace muttered on the sidelines. "I don't know what's gonna kill me first, the Marines or Luffy's reckless actions..."

" _Surume! The Kraken is an octopus but he named it Surume, oh yeah!_ "

"Alright, draw the Sunny, Surume!" Luffy yelled.

"Well, instead of making him draw the ship, we gotta make sure he's not gonna smash it up," Usopp nervously muttered.

"Ah?" everything froze as a tremor ran through the earth.

"What is it?" Luffy drawled as the ocean floor took on a red glow and began to tremble.

"Oh no, the undersea volcano's gonna erupt!" Nami realised.

" _What!_ "

"We're too close to it!" Franky exclaimed.

"Oh no!" Nami muttered. "Luffy, tell Kraken to get away from here now!"

"Yeah!" Luffy ran. "Oi, Surume!"

"Wait, there's no need!" Usopp peered down. "He's running like hell already! That's a terrible look for such a mythical monster!"

"Nice!" Nami smiled. "Maybe we can make it!"

"He runs awfully," Robin commented.

"Don't say that," Franky retorted. "That's how horrifying the eruption is!"

"That's right!" Brook agreed.

"And what is he doing?" Zoro growled, looking at the blond cook.

"Wow! Yes! Come on!"

"It's rehab!" Chopper argued.

"But I wanna see the eruption!" Luffy whined.

"When we're not running for our lives first," Ace muttered.

"Evacuate to the front of the ship!" Usopp yelled.

"Yeah!" Chopper ran after Usopp.

"It doesn't change anything!" Nami called after them. "It's only a few metres!"

The eruption happened with great fanfare aboard the Sunny, as everyone panicked, or laugh in Luffy's case, or freak out silently in Ace's case.

"Lava's leaning along to the sea floor!" Nami said as she leaned against the bubble. "The temperature is soaring!"

"Feels like I'm in boiling water!" Usopp commented. "I'm gonna be cooked!"

"The ghost ship and the Umibozu!" Brook exclaimed as sad parties were picked up and floated off.

"Judging from the viscosity and the speed at which the currents rise... I'd say that lava is over a thousand degrees Celsius," Yusei observed. "We'll end up with fried octopus if he slows down even a bit."

"Run, Surume!" Nami yelled.

"Go for it!" Chopper cheered.

"Go faster, Surume, or you're gonna become fried octopus!" Usopp screamed. The Kraken noticeably picked up speed after that.

"Boiled octopus?" Luffy echoed. "That's great! I wanna eat some!"

"Because of the difference in temperature, the sea current is starting to swirl!" Nami reported.

"Nami San, which way is the Fishman Island-"

"Even at a time like this?" Chopper yelped as Sanji began to bleed again. "Sanji, you have to focus on your rehab!"

"Keep going straight!" Nami ordered. "We're getting close! Then... jump into that trench!"

Between the deep dark abyss and the flowing liquid fire, the octopus was truly placing its life and the lives of the Straw Hats in the hands of its navigator.

"What?" Chopper screamed.

"In _there?_ " Usopp yelped.

" _NO!_ "

"Grab onto something," Ace cackled.

"It's a sheer cliff! You've got to be kidding!" Usopp yelled.

"It's darker than dark!" Chopper added.

"Are you sure that the Fishman Island is in there?" Usopp yelped, already panicking.

"It's hot in the back!" Chopper yelled as the lava was beginning to catch up to the Kraken.

"It's totally dark in the front! Scary!" Usopp screamed. "I'm sure there'll be another monster! I don't think we can make it home alive! Luffy! The darkness is a bottomless pit that connects to hell! Iron pot! Tea caddy! Tea-tea caddy!"

"Jump in, Surume!" Luffy cheerfully ordered.

Everyone aboard braced themselves for the jump as the Kraken took a dive to the dark depths, just as rocks began flying about behind it.

"It's erupting again!" Usopp yelped.

"What's that? Right above us!" Franky yelled.

"Rocks?" Robin suggested.

"Mud?"

"It's an avalanche of rocks and earth!" Nami answered. "Watch out!"

"The eruption caused it!" Chopper screamed.

"I think even the Sunny would break apart if one of those giant rocks hit it!" Usopp joined him.

"Get away, Surume!" Nami called as the octopus swam down.

"I'm gonna go out and cut them," Zoro readied a sword. "Luffy! Hold on tight to my leg!"

"'kay, I got it!"

"Zoro, no!" Arms sprouted to restrain the swordsman.

"Oi, let me go!"

"Why are you stopping him, Robin?" Luffy complained.

"We're eight thousand metres deep now! If you go out, you'll be crushed by the water pressure!"

"Then, what should we do?" Zoro retorted.

"If we can buy some time to get away from the cliff..." Nami suggested.

"Leave it to me!"

Everyone looked as Usopp.

" _Hissatsu Midori Boshi: Sargasso!_ " the seed flew past the bubble to land amidst the rocks, seaweed sprouting out to restrain the boulders.

"The sea plant popped out!" Chopper exclaimed.

Nami stared."It stopped..."

"...the avalanche." Franky ended.

"That's so cool, Usopp!" Chopper praised.

"Cool!" Luffy echoed with sparkles in his eyes.

"It only holds for a while," Usopp grinned. "Now's the chance to get away, Surume!"

The Kraken ran down and away from the cliff-side in time to narrowly avoid the avalanche.

"Safe!" Chopper sighed.

"Usopp, that was great!" Luffy grinned.

"Yes, it was great judgement!" Brook cheered as the long-nosed sniper laughed.

"We made it through!" Chopper yelled.

Zoro sheathed his sword, smiling.

"It's not like I was fooling around for the past two years," Usopp grinned. "Let me tell you about it! It's a very touching story! The days of the relentless diet with Master Heracles..." tears were forming in his eyes.

"Maybe next time," Nami shrugged.

"The island full of food..." Ace nodded.

"Full... of... food...!" Luffy actually had tears in his eyes.

" _Why next time?_ "

"Nami San is harsh!"

"Surume, you did great too!" Luffy yelled.

"We're safe now!" Chopper piped up.

"Thanks, Surume!" Nami added.

The cheer continued for a while as the octopus grinned. "Surume! Hey! Surume! Hey! Surume! Hey! Surume! Hey! Surume! Come on! Su-"

 _Kong._ A huge boulder hit the kraken on the head, causing the crew to panic and scream as the Thousand Sunny floated down on the back of the Kraken into the watery abyss...

* * *

As usual, Usopp was the first to wake up. "I... I'm alive!"

"We made it..." Ace panted as he got up. "After we met the kraken, I was sure we were about to become the seventy percent..."

"Light? This deep in the sea?" Robin noted.

"It's too bright! My eyes are dazzled!" Brook complained. "But I don't have eyes to be dazzled... Yohohoho!"

"Oi, guys, come here!" Luffy stared. "Look at that! That!"

"I can't see it – it's too bright," Usopp squinted.

"Oi, Nami, is that it?" Luffy yelled.

"Yeah, there's no doubt," Nami held up the Log Pose on her wrist. "The needle is pointing at the island! That is..."

"The Fishman Island!" Luffy proclaimed. "It's huge!"

The island was a circular sphere, surrounded by a bubble, and around it fish of every species imaginable – and some unimaginable- swam around. The sunlight shining overhead made it gleam, like a precious pearl lying at the bottom of the ocean.

"It's in a big bubble!" Nami exclaimed. "There are clouds? Maybe there's air inside."

"There is," Ace nodded.

"That's the Fishman Island so we're ten thousand metres deep now!" Chopper gasped.

" _How_ is there such a big tree this deep in the water?" Usopp stated.

Luffy began to laugh deeply as the kraken held up the Thousand Sunny. "Yeah! We made it!"

Franky posed. "It's a popular site in the Grand Line!"

"So this is the legendary Fishman Island..." Yusei murmured.

"Beautiful..." Aki nodded in agreement.

"The mermaids dance around here. The beautiful mermaids!" Sanji was off in la-la land. "I'm finally here! The paradise I've been dreaming of since I was a kid!"

"Mermaid! Mermaid! Mermai-!"

"Sanji!" Usopp yelled as Sanji bled again. "You're not ready! You shouldn't even think about it!"

"Sanji!" Chopper panicked.

"Let him," Aki sighed. "At least he'll die happy..."

"I'm sorry, Sanji! The rehab didn't work yet!" Chopper rushed towards the collapsed cook. "You shouldn't look at real mermaids."

"Doctor! It was his dream to see the mermaids on the Fishman Island!" Usopp cried.

"But he's gonna die if he sees them!"

"No way!"

"I don't care..." Sanji gasped.

"Sanji!" Usopp cried.

"Rather than live longer without a dream... I wanna die staring at the mermaids in a disgusting way!"

"You're scum!" Usopp yelled at him.

"I'm gonna look at the mermaids!"

"It's hot!"

"The flames of his eroticism!"

"It's burning pink," Yusei noted. "Doctor, are you sure it's not a medical condition?"

"I can't wait!" Luffy sighed. "I wonder what kind of meat is in their dishes!"

"Not a lot," Ace crushed a few dreams right there.

"Luffy, wipe your drool," Nami scolded. "Can you give an order to Surume? Let's look for the entrance."

"Oi, what are they?" Franky pointed suddenly.

"Who are they?" Zoro growled as six looming shadows approached, and even the Kraken started.

"Sea Beasts!" Nami exclaimed.

Yusei blinked at the giant giraffe, lion, elephant, rhinoceros, gorilla and polar bear fish. "Sea... Beasts? They really don't look it..."

"We're dead!" Usopp cried as half the crew panicked. "After we got all the way here!"

"So cool!" Luffy cheered as he looked up at them. "The Sea Beasts!" He then blinked. "Oh! Somebody's riding it!"

"Why are you obeying such fools as humans, Kraken? " a voice drawled from one of the riders.

The giant octopus shivered, staring at the rider before it threw the Sunny off and ran away.

"What are you doing, Surume? We were almost there!" Luffy yelled at the running cephalopod.

"Saying that won't help!" Usopp yelled at the captain. "Hang on! Don't get thrown off!"

"My eyes are spinning!" Chopper yelled.

"So are mine! But I don't have eyes!"

The Sunny crashed to land on the ocean floor, at the mercy of the Sea Beasts.

"We're right in the middle of the sea monsters!" Usopp screamed.

"You guys are the Straw Hats, aren't you?" one of them drawled.

"W- Who are you?" Luffy called. "How do you know about us?"

"Yes, I know you all very well," he replied. "You are the ones who foiled the plans of the Arlong Pirates. The act was easy enough to understand. But then, you stood up for Hachi San, the former officer of the Arlong Pirates two years ago, and knocked out one of the hateful Tenryuubito out!"

The yellow Fishman smirked at them. "Just like Fisher Tiger, the hero of Fishman Island whom we respect."

Robin started. "Fisher... Tiger..."

Ace frowned. "I've heard that Fishman Island was changing, but to take this attitude..."

The Fishman laughed. "It's hard to decide what I should do with you. So, tell me. Are you guys our enemies or not? I'll give you an option. Do you wanna enlist under our banner, the New Fishman Pirates? Or do you refuse? If you refuse, we'll sink you."

Yusei broke open a canister. "Franky San, energy room."

"What did you say?" Luffy yelled.

"Franky, fuel up!" Nami gave the order.

"What are you gonna do?' Franky drawled.

"You know that Luffy and the others won't give in to them," Nami explained. "But we're ten thousand metres deep now. We can't even fight and there's no chance to win. So we run! Do the Coup de Burst using all the air we have, and charge into Fishman Island!"

"EH!" Brook and Chopper screeched.

"Are you serious?" Franky drawled.

"Yusei's already increasing the air we have!" Nami pointed out. "Otherwise, we're all gonna die after coming this far!"

Robin nodded in agreement. "It seems like that's the only way that we can survive."

"Okay, I'll fill it up," Usopp ran for the engine room. "Franky, steer the ship!"

"Alright, super count on me!"

The rest of the crew quickly hoisted the sails, even if Ace had on a confused look.

"So, do you wanna work under us, Strawhat Luffy?" the Fishman called.

"No way! Stupid!" Luffy called back.

"You refused... the offer to join the New Fishman Pirates!" the Fishman roared. "Then, you guys are the Fishman's enemy! Just sinful human beings!"

"Bleah!" Luffy stuck his tongue at them while stretching his cheeks. "Why should we work under you?"

"Luffy, don't rub them the wrong way!" Chopper cried.

"It's a shame. Then we can't let you pass through here," the Fishman drawled. "this is where we sink you! Sea Lion!"

The lion roared in answer.

"Do I shoot it!" Ace yelled as Yusei broke open another canister.

"No!" Yusei hollered back over the hissing of the canisters as he extracted a baby DenDen Mushi.

"It's done!" the snail spouted in Usopp's voice. "Franky, do it!"

"Roger!" Franky yelled.

"Sink it!"

"Wanna fight?" Luffy yelled as Zoro and Sanji got ready as well.

Ace slowly turned to the aft of the ship as he saw a light gather there. "Don't tell me..."

"Go, Franky!" Nami ordered.

"The Sunny is a lion too!" Franky growled. "Let's fight someday, Sea Lion! Here we go! Coup de Burst!"

"It's really flying!" Ace gaped as he and the rest of the crew were pinned down by pressure and the bubble, the Sunny charging forward through the deep sea towards the bubble of Fishman Island.

"We're losing air..." Luffy moaned.

"We're gonna get crushed..." Chopper complained.

"I can't breathe! But I don't have lungs..."

"Endure it! Until we reach the Fishman Island!" Nami called.

"We're heading in!" Franky yelled.

"Wait for me, my dear mermaids!"

"The coating came off!" Luffy hollered as the Sunny charged past the first layer. "It got stuck on the giant bubble!"

"The extra air wasn't enough to offset the drag force!" Yusei realised with some panic. "We'll-!"

"Oh, look!" Brook pointed. "What is that?"

"The bubble here is a double structure!" Robin called. "Normal ships will fall in this layer because there is only air!"

"We're gonna run into one more bubble!" Franky yelled at the steering wheel. "Hold on tight!"

Everyone braced themselves on the deck as the Sunny entered the second layer to slowly tear through into water.

"Water?" Zoro growled, that was, before gallons of the wet stuff washed on deck and the Thousand Sunny found itself completely immersed in sea water.

"Help... me..."

"Can't breathe..."

"Luffy!" Ace kept a grip on the rubbery wrist even as he himself slipped slowly into darkness.

"Aki!" white light shone around Yusei's back as he tried to reach for the red-haired girl. "Partial summon!"

Despite their struggles, slowly, darkness overcame them even as glistening light like stardust glittered in the water.


	6. V: The Transmigration Prophecy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously:
> 
> "Go, Franky!" Nami ordered.
> 
> "The Sunny is a lion too!" Franky growled. "Let's fight someday, Sea Lion! Here we go! Coup de Burst!"
> 
> "It's really flying!" Ace gaped as he and the rest of the crew were pinned down by pressure and the bubble, the Sunny charging forward through the deep sea towards the bubble of Fishman Island.
> 
> "We're losing air..." Luffy moaned.
> 
> "We're gonna get crushed..." Chopper complained.
> 
> "I can't breathe! But I don't have lungs..."
> 
> "Endure it! Until we reach the Fishman Island!" Nami called.
> 
> "We're heading in!" Franky yelled.
> 
> "Wait for me, my dear mermaids!"
> 
> "Water?" Zoro growled, that was, before gallons of the wet stuff washed on deck and the Thousand Sunny found itself completely immersed in sea water.
> 
> "Help... me..."
> 
> "Can't breathe..."
> 
> "Luffy!" Ace kept a grip on the rubbery wrist even as he himself slipped slowly into darkness.
> 
> "Aki!" white light shone around Yusei's back as he tried to reach for the red-haired girl. "Partial summon!"
> 
> Despite their struggles, slowly, darkness overcame them even as glistening light like stardust glittered in the water.

Blink. Blink.

"Hey."

Blink. Blue ceiling.

"Hey, look."

"I'll look."

"I won't."

"Maybe I'll look."

"I looked, so what?"

"Ah?" Luffy stared as the five tiny faces.

"Hey, he's moving!"

"He moved!"

"He didn't!"

"Maybe he moved."

"He moved, so what?"

Luffy spat out water, to the panic of all five who ran away.

"Yeah, he woke up!" Usopp cheered.

"Luffy!" Chopper cheered. Sanji just smiled.

Very slowly, Luffy sat up, looking around. "Where am I?"

He looked down. "And... what's this? A hand?" he slowly looked from the hand to the attached body and the freckled dark-haired man laid out onk his back sleeping peacefully next to him.

"Ah, it's Ace," Sanji casually replied. "Apparently, even when he's unconscious he holds on damned tightly. There's no way to get him to let go, believe us."

"Oh, Luffy-chin!" Luffy turned around to look at the green-haired pink-tailed mermaid in a black tank top. "I'm glad that you're okay! How are you?"

It was a few moments before Luffy finally recalled. "Oh! Keimi! It's been a while!"

"You've gotten prettier, Keimi Chan!" Sanji swirled around with hearts in his eyes.

"Yeah, long time no see!" Keimi smiled. "I'm glad to see you again!"

Luffy blinked. "Keimi is here, that means... we landed on the Fishman Island?"

"Yeah, we did!" Chopper happily replie$. "I've been told that we were drowning but some mermaids rescued us!"

"That's right," Usopp agreed. "As a matter of fact, we just woke up a couple of minutes ago."

"Yes, we found all five of you wrapped up with Yusei-chin holding on," Keimi held up part of Yusei.

All of the Straw Hats stared at the unconscious mechanic as he slowly woke up. "...yes?" Like a sail, wings like stardust shivered on his back.

"Yusei!" Chopper screamed. "You got _wings!_ "

"I borrowed them from Stardust," Yusei sighed as he dismissed the glistening shining appendages from his back. "So, everyone's up already?"

"Eh?" Ace woke up. "Oh..." he sat up. "Oh... we're alive!"

"Ace!" Luffy grinned. "You woke up! Oh, my hand! By the way, Keimi, this is my brother, Ace! Ace, this is Keimi, a mermaid who keeps getting eaten!"

"Nice to meet you, Ace Chin!" Keimi smiled.

"Thank you for looking after this idiot brother of mine," Ace nodded in reply.

"What kind of monster strength do you have, you idiot...?" Sanji sweat-dropped at the bruises. "This is Keimi Chan's house. Here's your hats."

"Oh, this is Keimi's house," Luffy caught the hat on his head as Ace just caught it in one hand to plop over dark hair.

"I'm sorry! I was gonna pick you guys up but I thought it was a month later." Keimi sheepishly answered.

"Don't worry!" Luffy grinned. "Where are the others?"

"Well..." Chopper nervously began. "It looks like we got separated. I wonder if they're okay."

"Is that so?' Luffy asked.

"Yeah, I was following them up to some point but they were taken somewhere else," Sanji drawled.

"Well, I'm sure they'll be fine!" Luffy smiled.

"I think so," Sanji answered. "The bone can't do much in the sea but they got the robot and the green one, so they'll be fine."

"Yeah, they'll be fine!" Chopper agreed.

"I wanna see the others too," Keimi sighed. "Oh, here! I know you're all freezing. I made soup, so have some and get warm."

Almost all the guys cheered.

"Ta-dah! Cold seaweed soup!" Keimi served it. "You'll love it!"

"...cold soup?" Usopp echoed.

"Uh-huh! ...AAHH! You can't get warm with cold soup! What should I do?"

" _What?_ "

" _I made a mistake!_ "

"WAAAAHHH!" _slap-slap-slap-slap-slap._

"Don't worry, Keimi Chan~!" Sanji blushed. "It warms me up anyway~!"

"How is that possible?-.-" Chopper sweat-dropped.

"Oi, Sanji, I want one too!" Luffy complained.

"Luffy, I'll warm it up for you," Ace offered, one hand flaming as he heated the soup.

"Uh!" Luffy grinned as he accepted the cup. "Ah, hot!" he drank the whole cup quickly. "Ah, my tongue! Ace!"

"You're an idiot," Ace sighed as he handed Yusei a heated cup. "Here, some aloe."

"Ace, it burns~" Luffy pouted as he sucked it.

"Luffy! Bandages!" Chopper ran over with a roll already out.

"Your clothes are dry!" One of the five tiny mermaids called as they floated over.

"They're dry."

"They aren't dry!"

"Maybe they're dry."

"They're dry, so what?"

Luffy cheered up as he accepted his red long-sleeved shirt. "You dried our clothes! Thanks!"

"Thank you," Sanji told the mermaids.

"Still, I don't remember Ace wearing a shirt," Usopp noted as everyone, even Ace, got an article of clothing.

"Oh, my back got burnt in Marineford," Ace grinned as he turned around to show them. "It's even more distinctive to walk around with this on my back than Whitebeard's Jolly Roger, so I got used to wearing a shirt as we had to keep a low profile."

"How are you even alive!" Usopp yelled at the older D. "A wound there would have killed a normal human being!"

"Don't forget, your chest also got burnt," Yusei added. "Aki said that the whole thing should have passed through your diaphragm, burning your heart and rupturing the aorta. You're lucky to even be alive."

"Yes, yes, miracle worker." Ace retorted. "Luffy? What's up?"

"Ace..." the younger D. stared at the raised welts. "That..."

"Looks like a pair of wings, I know," Ace shrugged. "Look, I even have on on my chest to match." The burn on the chest was almost similar to Luffy's own souvenir of Marineford, only slightly thicker. "Think of it as a price to be alive."

"..." the normally hyperactive captain then looked at the five little mermaids. "by the way, who are you guys?"

"Oh, they're my friends," Keimi introduced. "The Medaka mermaid quintuplets."

"I'm Ichika!"

"I'm Nika!"

"I'm Sanka!"

"I'm Yonka!"

"I'm Yonka Two!"

"Why can't it be Gouka!" Usopp yelled.

"They swim fast and they're pretty savvy," Keimi continued.

"Oh, really?" Luffy drawled as he put on the cardigan, though his %yes lingered on Ace's back and his fingers traced his own chest burn.

"We're at the sea floor of the Mermaid Cove," Keimi told them. "And this is the girls' dorm for the Mermaid Café, so I have a lot of friends here!"

"What!" Sanji swallowed. "G... G... G... _Girls' dorm?_ "

"Oh no!" Usopp and Chopper exclaimed.

"Keimi Chan!" Sanji was red in the face and steaming and drooling. "What... what... what is Mermaid Café?"

"It's a café where I'm working as a waitress," Keimi cheerfully replied. "There are a lot of beautiful mermaids!"

"B- Beautiful mermaids?"

Usopp panicked. "Sanji is..."

"...in danger!" Chopper screeched.

"Dammit!" Sanji broke out of his daydream.

"He endured!"

"I... I swore that I'd never have a nosebleed and pass out on the Fishman Island!" Sanji pounded his fists on the floor. "So I should be rewarded by now, shouldn't I...?"

"How desperate..." Usopp muttered.

"Oh yeah, let's go up!" Keimi suggested. "I want you to meet my friends."

"Oh, it's a turtle!" Luffy said as they exited the bubble-proofed house.

"It says 'Sea Turtle Elevator'," Chopper commented.

"Turtle Chin, take us up," Keimi said to the giant sea turtle.

The turtle blew a whistle in its mouth as it ascended up.

"This is a coral apartment in the sea," Keimi said as the turtle rose. "The dorm is at the very bottom, so the rent is cheap. The top floor gets natural light, so it's the most expensive."

"Are you poor?" Luffy commented. "By the way, where are Hachi and Pappagg?"

"Ha-chin got severely injured about a year ago."

"He tried to protect the Sunny at Sabaody," Luffy commented.

"I heard that he's pretty much recovered now, but Ha-chin is originally from the Fishman District, so he's resting there," Keimi answered.

"Fishman District?" Usopp echoed.

"Yeah, it's kinda a rough area, but I can take you there since I feel safe with you guys."

"The Fishman District is also the only place in the whole island you can get a decent cut," Ace muttered.

"Let's go later!" Luffy cheered. "I have to thank him face to face."

"Okay, I got it!" Keimi chirped. "And Pappagg is... he's a very famous designer, so he has a big mansion in Gyoverly Hills, the high-class district. I'm gonna deliver clams there today, so come with me!"

"He's your pet, right?" Luffy asked. "Why don't you live with him?"

Keimi laughed weakly. "That area is way beyond my means. We have better clams here, anyway."

"We're almost there!" Chopper exclaimed.

Usopp started at seeing something. "What's that straw-like thing?"

"Oh, that's the Water Road that a bubble craftsman made," Keimi answered. "We and the fish get in and... here, watch."

"If we can find some Bubbly Coral, we can go to any part of the island," Ace drawled. "Well, it's easily bought, so we just have to look around."

"Oh, that's fast!" Usopp praised as Keimi exited the Turtle Elevator to swim towards the Water Road.

"It's great!" Luffy agreed.

"Yep," Ace nodded.

"It's wonderful," Yusei agreed.

"Keimi Chan, where are you going?"

After a while, the elevator finally broke through the surface and air was reached.

"We're here, on the surface!" Usopp cheered.

"Luffy-chin!" Keimi called. "See? I can even swim in the sky!"

"Oh, looks fun!" all of them cheered.

"Oh?" Usopp blinked. "Wait a minute! Besides that, there's a sky and clouds in the deep sea!"

"You're right!" Chopper sparkled. "I wonder how it's possible!"

"Maybe it's the isolation principle," Yusei considered. "Clouds can be due to the precipitation of water on the bubble surface, which is kept cool by the deep sea waters. The only thing that need be explained is how sunlight reaches here. I hypothesise that Fishman Island is like a little underwater vivarium isolated by the double-layer bubble."

"Oi, Keimi!"

"Huh? It's a girl's voice!" Sanji turned around. "Where is she?

"Ha! Everybody!" Keimi waved from the Water Road arching over the Cove.

Sanji stared. "That's..."

"Are your friends fine now? The pirates who were drowning."

"Heh?" Sanji stared.

"You guys didn't come in by the entrance."

Tears were actually beginning to form in the visible eye.

"Hello! You guys don't look that scary." "You guys entered illegally? So wild! I love pirates!"

Sanji gaped, incapable of words. Luffy just began to laugh.

"It's like a living fairy tale!" Usopp declared. "A land of coral! The Mermaid Cove!"

Tears ran out of Sanji's eyes as he ran forward and began bawling.

"Sanji's crying!" Chopper yelled.

"He's crying harder than when he left the Baratie!" Luffy said.

"I found it!" Both hands punched the sky as Sanji yelled. "This is my All Blue!"

"Is it really what you want, Sanji...?" Usopp muttered.

"Let me introduce them to you!" Keimi finally arrived. "He's the captain, Luffy-chin."

"Yeah, good to see you!"

"The crying one is Sanji-chin." Keimi continued. "The one with the nose is Usopp Chin."

"Nice to meet you!"

"The raccoon is Chopper Chin."

"I'm a reindeer!"

"This is Yusei-chin."

"Hello."

"This is the captain's brother, Ace Chin."

"Yo!"

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" A green-haired mermaid reached for Sanji hand. "Come with me! Let's dance in the water!"

A tear fell after some initial cheering from the blond cook. "Oh yeah, I get it now. This is too good to be true. I'm probably gonna die today!"

"How negative!" Usopp yelled. "Seriously, what happened to you in the past two years? This is the paradise you've been dreaming of!"

"You're so funny, Sanji!" Luffy laughed.

"No, he's not trying to be funny!"

Little did the laughing Straw Hat Pirates know, of the troubles yet to come with them on this island... buried deep within the Fishman District, reaching from the darkness...

* * *

"What should we do?" Nami moaned once she had dried out. "Aki?"

"We should hurry up and find the others," Aki accepted her dried coat from the giant Phoenix Cluster Amaryllis. "It's hard to believe this place is in the deep sea, though..."

"..." Nami did not reply as a torrent of water was heading straight at them. "...EEEEHHH? AAAAHHHH!..."

"SUUUUUPEEEEEERRR!" Franky landed beside Nami, a bundle under his arm. "Yo, Nami, Aki, I'm glad that you're okay!"

"I just thought I was gonna die because of you!" Nami retorted before she noticed the bundle. "Robin!"

"Robin," Nami kept calling as Franky laid her out on the ground. "Robin!"

"Nami?" the dark-haired woman finally spoke.

"Are you alright?" Nami enquired as the archaeologist sat up.

"Where are we? The Fishman Island?"

"Probably," Nami admitted. "Franky is scouting it out now."

"Still, take it easy," the doctor of the women advised. "Who knows if there's any water in your lungs or not."

"Oh, you're up, Robin!" Franky called.

"Thanks to you," Robin agreed, getting to her feet.

"Did you see Luffy and the others?" Nami turned to the cyborg shipwright.

"No, I can't find them," Franky shook his head.

Nami sighed. "We just got together again..."

"Well, there's no need to worry!" Franky optimistically said. "They wouldn't die so easily."

"He's right," Robin agreed.

"We have to find the Sunny too," Franky continued. "But first, shouldn't we check with some inhabitants? I found a town nearby."

* * *

"Sanji Chan!"

_Splash_. "I think... I'll... live here!" Sanji declared as he leapt from the water.

"Sanji Chan, you're so funny!"

"He seems to have recovered after all," Usopp observed. "By his willpower alone?"

"I wanna swim like you guys," Luffy complained as his feet paddled in the water.

"The curse of being a Devil Fruit user..." Ace sighed. "Oi, Yusei-"

"I have a headache," Yusei laid his forehead against a nearby block of coral.

"Luffy-chin, you can swim with a bubble on," Keimi told the captain.

" _Really?_ "

"Mmm, any craftsman in the city can make one for you right away."

"Heh?"

"I'm glad because if he has a nosebleed now, we don't have blood for a transfusion," Chopper sighed. "And Sanji's blood type is very rare."

"Ha? That's not good, is it?" Usopp sighed.

"Hey, Keimi," Luffy said. "There's somebody I really want to see on the Fishman Island."

"Me too," Ace sat up. "It's been a long time since I saw that guy."

"Who is it? The Mermaid Princess?" Keimi asked.

"Nope," Luffy grinned. "It's Jimbe!"

"Boss Jimbe?" Keimi blinked.

"Oi, Luffy, you mean Jimbe the Shichibukai?" Usopp asked. "No, he resigned during the war, so he's the former Shichibukai."

"Yeah, he's my friend!" Luffy agreed.

"Eh! What's up with you? You know the pirate empress too," Usopp exclaimed. "So, why does Ace...?"

"During that one week at the precipice of hell two years ago, Jimbe was there," Ace sighed. "Before that, we were allies. I fought him for five days straight before I joined the Whitebeard Pirates. He's a good guy."

"Ah," Yusei nodded. "Jimbe risked his life to save us both during the Marineford War. He said that he'll be waiting for us here."

"We made a promise to meet on this island," Luffy grinned.

"Oh yeah, I read in the newspaper that you guys were with Boss Jimbe," Keimi said.

"Where's Jimbe?" Luffy drawled.

"Um, Boss is not on the island now," Keimi considered.

"Huh?"

"He resigned from the Shichibukai during the war two years ago," Keimi explained. "So the former members of the Fishman Pirates could no longer stay here and they left with Boss Jimbe."

"What? So I can't see him here?" Luffy groaned.

"It's a long story." Keimi sighed. "But, the war had a lot of effects on this island too..."

"Keimi!" the five quintuplet mermaids floated over.

"A ship is coming!"

"It might be!"

"The royal family's ship!"

"Maybe no one's on it!"

"I'm sure somebody is!"

"Who's on it, Medaka Chin sisters?' Keimi asked.

"We don't know yet."

"You don't often see the royal family's ship."

"They seldom come here."

"Maybe they're coming to catch Luffy-chin and the others for illegal entry."

"So what?"

"What?" everyone started.

"You guys need to hide!" Keimi said.

"Can we be charged?" Ace frowned. "I don't even recall if illegal entry is possible for pirates... this is the first time I've entered by anything other than the main entrance..."

Yusei stared up as the trace of a long fish could be seen in the sky, a bubble-wrapped gondola in the middle.

"Is it the royal family's gondola?" Keimi squinted.

"You think so?"

"It is!"

"Maybe!"

"I bet so!"

"So what?"

"But it can't be somebody from the royal family!" one of the other mermaids whispered.

"They don't bother coming all the way to this corner of the island."

"Flashy," Ace commented as a row of trumpets sounded. "Like that salute Yusei's monsters gave him before."

"It wasn't that bad," Yusei retorted.

"The Neptune Three Brothers are here!"

"The princes themselves," Ace muttered. "Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, Manboshi..."

"Hello, girls of the cove," the first, and presumably the oldest prince began. "I want to ask something."

"Ah! My princes!"

"What brought you here?"

"Princes?" Usopp muttered.

"I received a report of an illegal entry. Did they not come here?"

"If you've seen them, tell me, fa-so-la-ti-do!" another voice sang.

"Moonfish! Shake, shake! I wanna stay here and play!"

"We haven't seen anybody." "Are they that important? That you princes have to come all the way here?"

"Well, I'm not sure if they're who I think they are yet," the prince replied.

"We're not sure, mi-re-do!"

"I can't hold it any longer! Everybody, let's dance together!"

Yusei sighed, hidden behind the coral. "What on- Ace San. In the distance."

"You have sharp eyes," Ace growled. "Yeah, I see them."

"Hmm. Very well. Thank you very much." the first prince seemed to finally conclude his questions. "We'll check somewhere else. Sorry to bother you when you're having fun."

"Let's dance another time!"

"Sorry for the bother, so-fa-mi-re-do!"

"Any time!" the mermaids waved goodbye to the floating gondola.

"They're leaving," Usopp sighed.

What sounded like a geyser caused them all to look at the source of the sound.

"Sanji!" Chopper exclaimed.

"What is that?" Usopp screamed.

"A geyser of blood in the shape of a mermaid..." Yusei stared. "...Sanji San..."

"Aaah! Sanji Chan!" a dark-haired mermaid screamed, holding onto the bleeding cook.

"That was too much blood! He's in danger!" Luffy commanded.

"He couldn't hold it!" Usopp yelled. "All that pent-up excitement exploded!"

"Sanji!" Chopper screamed.

"How does anyone lose that much blood due to nosebleeds...?" Ace muttered.

"Get him out of the water already!" one arm hauled the cook out of the water. "Sanji San!"

"Ammo Knights!" the prince was calling.

"The gondola's turning back," Yusei growled as armoured soldiers armed with tridents leapt out to surround them.

Luffy stood to face them all.

"Wait a minute!" Chopper ran forward and held out his arms. "We're sorry about the illegal entry! But you can't arrest us now! Can somebody donate blood now? If nothing is done, our friend is gonna die within an hour! His blood type is S Rh-minus. It's rare, but does anybody here share the same blood type? Or are Fishman and mermaids' blood totally different?"

"I have O type, is that okay?" Yusei offered.

"No! Sanji's a Bombay type!" Chopper disagreed. "We don't have time! Anyone!"

"Healing Wave Generator, summon! Flamvell Guard, summon!" Yusei pulled out the cards as the monsters appeared.

"Ah!" "What are those?"

Yusei nodded at Sanji. "Heal Waver, can you treat him?"

The machine beeped as it sent waves towards Sanji.

"We have to treat him quickly, Usopp San!" Yusei told the sniper.

"This is... this is the dumbest way to die!" Usopp scolded as he tried to revive Sanji.

"Somebody please! I beg you!" Luffy was on his knees. "Give blood to Sanji!"

"Luffy-chin, Chopper Chin!" Keimi said. "Mermaids and Fishmen blood are the same as humans, so we can donate blood! But...!"

Laughter, cruel and merciless, caused everyone to look across at the Fishmen laughing. "Those humans are talking nonsense!"

"Those guys with the sea monsters!" Luffy stood up.

"Prince Fukaboshi, that's Hammond from the Fishman District," one of the soldiers reported.

Hammond laughed again. "There's nobody on this island who would give blood to such lowly creatures as humans. If somebody does, he risks the Punishment of the Dark Night from human haters."

"Punishment?" Usopp echoed.

"He can just keep losing blood helplessly and die!" Hammond laughed. "There is this old law in our kingdom: donating blood to humans is prohibited."

"What?" Usopp started.

"Make no mistake; you humans set the rule first!" Hammond retorted. "You people have a long history of fearing us as monsters and refused to get your blood mixed up! That's why Fisher Tiger, the hero of Fishman Island, died."

"Again?" Ace growled. "It's that old argument, huh..."

"Fisher... Tiger?" Luffy echoed.

"He risked his own life to free slaves of all races, but after a bloody war, he lost his life although he could've survived if he had a transfusion! Those heartless humans refused to give blood, so he died!" Hammond ranted. "Strawhat, here is what I want you to do. Just give up on your crew-member's life and come to the Fishman District with us! The captain of the New Fishman Pirates, Hody Jones, is expecting you guys."

"Shut up!" Usopp retorted. "Oi! I don't know about the law, but please! Isn't there anyone with S Rh-minus? I'll do anything to repay you! Just as long as you save his life now!"

"The rate of healing is too slow," Yusei checked. "Chopper San!"

"We need blood now!" Chopper panicked.

"I said it's no use!" Hammond shouted.

"Keimi!" Usopp called as the mermaid dived.

"If you don't comply..." Hammond held up a huge portable cannon. ".n.I'll take you by force!"

" _Gear Second!_ "

"Trawl Net!"

"I told you that we weren't gonna join you!" Luffy yelled as he held up his fists, avoiding the net. " _Jet Pistol!_ "

"Luffy, a monster behind you!" Usopp yelled as the captain sent the three others enemies reeling back.

Ace smirked as he appeared, glaring at the beast. "Down."

The sea monster sank to all fours, whining.

The prince Fukaboshi stared. "Hammond and the others got..."

"The monster gave up without fighting!" Usopp exclaimed.%3/p>

"Cool!" Chopper gasped.

"Actually, Luffy should be able to do this as well," Ace drawled, adjusting his hat. "But... I can't let my little brother have all the fun."

"What was it? Luffy Chan's unbelievable!"

"...Impressive." Fukaboshi stated after a moment.

"Luffy-chin and everybody!" Keimi called from the empty floating royal gondola. "Bring Sanji-chin too! Let's go to the town! There are many humans in the harbour of the town! Hurry up!"

"Okay!" Luffy called as Yusei handed the unconscious cook to the flaming dragon tuner. One rubbery hand snaked around to catch all of them as Luffy reached for the gondola and leapt aboard with his load.

"So this is how it feels like," Yusei muttered as the dragon landed, placing the cook safely on the floating fish before fading out.

"Alright, we're ready!" Luffy called. "Keimi, let's go!"

"Uh! Please, Ryugu Chin, take us to the harbour!"

"Hey you, wait!" someone called from land. "The Ryugu is the Princes'...!"

"I'm sorry! I'll bring it back as soon as we save Sanji-chin!" Keimi called back.

"Okay, continue," Yusei told the beeping machine.

"I'm sorry." Keimi told them. "If my blood type matched, I wouldn't refuse."

"You don't have to apologise," Usopp answered. "It al started because of his lecherous feelings. Look. He's still smiling a little."

"First time I've ever seen anyone almost die from nosebleed," Ace muttered. "You have a funny crew, Luffy."

"And at the same time, it's nice and bouncy..." the cook murmured.

"Sanji, that's enough!" Chopper yelled. "Don't think about anything! You're in a delicate state!"

Usopp sighed. "Still, you and Hachi were discriminated against at Sabaody Archipelago two years ago, so I guess it really runs deep. I can't believe Sanji's dirty mind caused such a big issue!"

"Mm, and even if we get to town, I done27t know if we can find a donor right away," Keimi agreed.

"What?" Chopper said.

"We haven't had that many human visitors for a month," Keimi replied. "You guys are our first visitors in a while."

"Why?" Luffy blinked as the gondola floated onwards. "I thought this was the famous scoop."

"Yes, it's a famous spot." Keimi agreed. "We don't know why. They say maybe something is standing in the voyagers' way. Somebody powerful is up to something – that's the talk of the kingdom."

Yusei considered quietly, frowning like everyone else conscious aboard the Ryugu gondola.

* * *

"That was no good, ladies," Prince Fukaboshi reproached. "Wh9 were you hiding the pirates?"

"I'm sorry, Prince Fukaboshi."

"They were Keimi's friends."

"They didn't do anything wrong. We didn't want them to be arrested."

"I hope Sanji Chan will be fine."

"You ladies mistook us. He's a well-known pirate, he didn't need to go through immigration," the prince explained. "Because we know their identities. Furthermore, he was accompanied by Fire Fist Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"We were looking for them for another reason, re-mi-fa!"

"Oh, is that so?"

The prince sighed. "And we were unable to deliver the message from Jimbe as well..."

* * *

"Please! Spare him some blood!" Luffy hollered down to land. "My friend is dying!"

"Someone with blood type S Rh-minus?" Chopper called.

"We don't have time! Donate your blood!" Usopp joined them.

"We beg you!" They all called.

"I'm sorry, Sanji-chin," Keimi murmured. "It's very hard for humans to get a blood transfusion on this island. But, Luffy-chin and the others will...!"

"They'll be alright," Yusei murmured as the Heal Waver whirred beside Sanji. "They will be..."

"Ah! They found a donor!" Ace pointed.

* * *

"Sanji! Are you awake?"

"Sanji-chin!"

"Sanji San!"

The cook stirred. "...Where am I?"

Chopper, Luffy and Usopp sighed in relief, sagging in their chairs. "What a relief!" Chopper sighed.

"We're in a town at the harbour," Keimi answered, tears in her eyes. "Sanji-chin, you lost almost all the blood in your body."

"I'm so glad we found a blood donor!" Chopper said.

e0D 

"Oh, blood..." he slowly sat up in the bed. "What's wrong with me?"

"Don't get up so fast!" Keimi dissuaded. "You need to rest more."

"But, why won't the Fishmen donate blood?" Luffy sighed. "We looked everywhere in the town but couldn't find a human."

"I almost gave up!" Usopp sighed.

"You guys, thanks for doing that," Sanji drawled. "But I don't remember anything. Where was I !nd what was I doing? I can barely remember..."

"No, don't think back!" Almost everyone shouted.

"We don't want you to have another nosebleed again!" Chopper yelped.

"Oh yeah, Sanji! Let me introduce you to the blood donor that we finally found at a bar! You have to say 'thank you'!" Usopp pulled back the curtains.

"Huh?" Sanji blinked. "Don't tell me I got blood from such a delicate lady!"

"It's okay! We're both humans, we have to help each other when we're in trouble."

"It's not what you think, Sanji San," Yusei sighed at the hearts in the cook's eyes.

"It's okay, silly!"

"If you want... we can give you more, silly!"

It was Sanji's worst nightmare, times two... the _okama._

" _WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!_ "

Luffy chuckled as Sanji leapt around the room in a panic. "I'm glad that he's back to his old self!"

"Hey, say thank you to them!" Usopp yelled to the cook.

"Luffy, let me see your right arm," Chopper spotted something.

"Huh?"

Ace leaned over for a look as Chopper conducted a test.

"Positive reaction for poison!" Chopper declared. "That's a poisonous wound as I thought!"

"Come to think of it, when I fought against the Fishmen... I felt something sting me," Luffy said.

"But you're okay?" Usopp asked.

"Ah."

"Are you sure?" Ace grimaced. "You always ignore the symptoms until the last possible moments..."

"Anyway, let me see it," Chopper said as Luffy held out his hand. "This must be deadly poison! Are you really okay?"

"Ah."

"I can't believe it!" Chopper said. "An antibody must have developed in your body to counter such poison. Have you ever been poisoned before?"

"Poison, huh?" Luffy sheepishly replied. "I almost died from poisoning in Impel Down."

"Almost died?" Usopp echoed as the captain laughed. "It's not funny!"

"Almost died...?" Ace repeated as smoke wafted up around him. "This..."

"Ace, the chair!" Usopp yelped.

"I think it was that guy!" Luffy chirped. "The swordsman with the octopus tentacles. He blocked my punch! I bet he's very strong!"

"Everyone, come here!" Keimi called later. "There's somebody I'd like you to meet."

"Ah?" the door creaked as it opened.

"The owner of the mermaid Café who let Sanji stay..."

"What is this?" as usual, Luffy disregarded everything to run towards the nearest thing of interest, in this case being a round crystal ball set in a shell like a pearl.

"...Madame Shyarly," Keimi continued.

"Oh? Thanks!" Luffy didn't turn around to face the blue-finned proprietor of the Mermaid Café.

"Say it face to face!" Ace hit him. "I apologise for his lack of manners."

Madame Shyarly laughed. "Is the blond boy okay now?"

"Mm," Keimi answered. "But since you're such a beautiful lady, it's best you stay away from the room. And, let's not tell Sanji-chin that this place is in the back of the Mermaid Café."

"Why is that?" the older mermaid enquired.

"His doctor, Chopper Chin, said that if he finds out, there'll be trouble again."

"What a strange prognosis," the Madame commented.

"Oi, big mermaid!"

"It's Madame Shyarly, Luffy-chin!"

"What's this?" Luffy asked.

"It's beautiful!" Usopp cooed.

"Don't touch it, Straw Hat boys." she warned.

"Eh?"

It was Keimi who answered the question. "That's the crystal ball she uses to look into the future. Madame's visions are famous in the Coral Hill."

"I'm not practising anymore," Madame Shyarly sighed, as she blew a plume of smoke from her pipe. "It's better not knowing the future."

"Well, how about this?" Luffy asked. "Do you mermaids poop?"

Usopp and Ace slapped him. "What does that have to do with her fortune-telling?"

" _Don't you have any class?_ " Madame Shyarly loomed over them.

"A- Apologise, Luffy-chin!" Keimi panicked.

"Sorry." Luffy mechanically said as Usopp made him bow.

"Keimi, you can take a day off today," the madame said, reclining on her seat. "Show them around the island."

"Huh? Really?"

"You always work hard. And, these days we don't have human pirate guests and my business is drying up," the mermaid replied. "The girls from the cove will come soon so we have enough hands."

"Enough starfish..." Keimi considered. "Oh no! I should have delivered those clams to Pappagg by now!"

"That was so out-of-context!" Usopp said.

"He must be hungry..." Keimi sighed.

"What? Monsieur Pappagg is having fun at the Café with his old friend." the madame told her.

"Eh? At the Café?"

"Old friend?" Luffy and Usopp shared.

Yusei entered from the wash-room, drying his hands with a paper towel. "Luffy San?"

"That mark..." Madame Shyarly looked at him, her blue eyes wide. "Boy, hold out your right hand."

Yusei blinked, but complied to show the jagged Mark of the Head.

e0A

"Is that... a dragon's head?" Usopp stared.

"That mark..." Luffy eyed it. "I saw it... at Marineford. It was glowing... with something on your back."

"It's a birthmark," Yusei shrugged. "People tended to stare once they see it, so I hid it."

"That, is the mark of a Signer," Madame Shyarly blew another plume.

"Signer?" Yusei blinked. "There's a legend like that here too?"

"Signer?" Luffy echoed. "I know Yusei fell from the sk9, but... Yusei is a whatever-you-call-it?"

"A long time ago, an ancient people called to the stars for a saviour from some great evil," Madame Shyarly recited, as if from some old memory. "The Star Dragon, answered, appearing inkthe form of a crimson dragon before that people. Five individuals were blessed with something from the crimson dragon, and together they defeated the great evil. However... stories like this always repeat themselves in one way or another."

"Eh?" Yusei blinked.

"Dragons, they are things no human mind can comprehend, and are good or evil in perspective only." Madame Shyarly shook her head. "The evil is only held at bay, and never defeated. That mark represents great power, and a great fate on the bearer. I have never expected to see such a legendary mark here. If I am correct, then you will never see it removed in your lifetime."

"Actually... it was gone before," Yusei admitted.

The madame was taken aback. "Truly?"

"Er, yes."

"How odd," she commented. "Even if they set out what they wanted to do, such an event would have dragged on for years... unless... it was truly finished, and the heroes are no longer needed at that time..."

"Because heroes are only the product of their time," Yusei answered. "Because the bonds of destiny had been fulfilled, the marks disappeared as they were no longer needed."

"Yes," the shark mermaid agreed. "You possess wisdom, for sure... I can only suppose, that a hero is needed here. Boy, what is your name?"

"I'm Fudo Yusei," Yusei answered, confused.

"The unmoving wandering star," Madame Shyarly chuckled. "I see. Such things are not possible... unless you have a fate so strong, it is already inevitable, so clear, that it cannot be defied. Is there another Signer with you?"

"Ah," Yusei nodded.

"I see. Fishman Island is indeed lucky, or unlucky..." the fortune-teller shook her head.

Yusei shifted uncomfortably as the silence grew.

"Ah, let's go see Pappagg and his old friend!" Usopp looked flustered as he quickly changed the subject and pushed almost everyone out of the room.

"Take care of him well, Strawhat boy," Madame Shyarly murmured once the door closed. "Signers are the bearers of great power... and the Signer of the Head of the Dragon holds the greatest power known. What has come to Fishman Island... a miracle... or a tragedy...?"

* * *

"I couldn't mention this in front of her, but when Madame was a little child, she said that many pirates would come to this island," Keimi unhappily told them as they went into town, Sanji remaining behind with Chopper to tend to him. "That was the year before the Grand Age of Pirates began."

"What?" Luffy and Usopp yelled.

"Among a host of other things, she recently predicted the war at Marineford and Whitebeard's death," Keimi continued sadly.

" _What_?"

"She can't stand knowing what bad things will happen," Keimi sighed as she floated forward.

"Must be scary!" Usopp commented as he ran after her.

"Oh, where's Chopper?" Luffy suddenly stopped.

"He's taking care of Sanji," Ace told him, grabbing the younger into a one-shouldered hug. "Try not to give me too many grey hairs yet, okay?"

"Luffy-chin! Usopp-chin! Ace-chin! Yusei-chin!"

"Oh!"

"This is the main street of Coral Hill," Keimi told them as they followed down the street, Fishmen and mermaids or all types going about their lives around them. "Look! That's the main entrance of the Mermaid Café!"

"I'm getting hungry!" Luffy yawned as they stood to admire the elaborate facade of the building.

"It's a café!" Usopp sighed.

"We have food too! Cakes and sea fruit," Keimi said.

Luffy perked up. "What about meat?"

"We merfolk don't eat meat and fish, so what we have is: _Wakame_ bruleé, _Mozuku_ Tart, Kelp Soufflé..."

"Are they edible...?" Usopp muttered as Keimi kept listing the menu.

"Oh, we have meat too!"

"What?" Luffy brightened visibly after the disappointment of seaweed-based pastries.

"Shellfish meat! Scallop sandwich, freshwater clam pizza..."

"That's not meat!" Luffy yelled at her. "Don't ruin meat's reputation!"

"I have no idea what to say," Yusei finally commented.

"Well... anyway, let's go into the Mermaid Café!" Usopp awkwardly interrupted.

"Yeah, Pappagg will be there," Keimi agreed.

"Hey, don't ruin meat's reputation!" Luffy kept yelling.

As if in answer, Yusei pulled a bun out of his pocket and handed it over. "Pork floss bun."

It was devoured on the spot. "Doesn't taste like meat... oh, it's pork!"

"No, I don't have any more," Yusei answered the unspoken look from Ace.

"Thank you very much!" A chorus called as the double doors slid open and someone exited.

"Ah?" They all blinked at him.

"Resting my bones! Resting my bones! Yohohoho!"

"I'm happy for you, Bone!"

"Brook!" they exclaimed at the skeleton covered in lipstick marks.

"Brook Chin!" Keimi followed.

"Oh, Luffy San and the others!" Brook noticed them. "And it's been a while, Keimi San! Could I look at you panties..."

"She's a mermaid!" the starfish Pappagg kicked him on the lower jaw before jumping to the other Straw Hats. "Straw! Nose! Star! I missed you guys! I didn't know that you guys were here!"

Luffy chuckled as Pappagg glomped him. "Long time no see!"

"What, so you were with Pappagg!" Usopp turned to Brook.

"Yes, I didn't expect to be rescued by Pappagg San!" Brook agreed. "I was so lucky! Yohohoho!"

"Yeah, that was just as surprising to me!" Pappagg agreed. "While I was polishing off an idea for a new design at the cove, I saw some bones drifting towards me!"

"Soul King, come to see us again!" one of the mermaids said to the skeleton.

"I had a wonderful time!" the other mermaid agreed.

The musician laughed. "I'll definitely be back, beautiful mermaids!"

"What?" Usopp exclaimed.

"I'm going boneless!" Brook moaned. "Oh, I can't exist without bones! Oh, I don't care if I die now! Oh no, I'm already dead!"

"How cool!"

"Brook San..." Yusei sighed.

"He got so hyper in the Café..." Usopp gaped.

"Yeah, I wonder what's going on inside," Luffy nodded.

"I can feel predatory eyes from inside the building..." Ace shivered.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Pappagg stopped them from entering. "You aren't leaving today, are you? I know you're interested in the Café but you can come back with everyone later. Actually, I was gonna take Bone to my mansion now. Come with me! Do you like sea monster meat?"

"You have meat!" Luffy's tongue lolled out.

"I'm wild, I don't wanna eat seaweed or shellfish! What I mainly eat is violent sea monsters!"

"Ah, Pappagg, I almost forgot!" Keimi piped up. "Here are your clams for today."

"Yay! Keimi's best clams!"

"So you eat shellfish!" Usopp slapped him upside the head.

"Damn!" Luffy sighed. "Yusei~..."

"Unlike merfolk, Fishmen eat meat and fish. It's not like we don't have them on this island," Pappagg tried to comfort a grieving Luffy later.

"Oh, glad to hear that!" Luffy cheered up after that.

"Oh, just what I was looking for! Hey, taxi!"

"Here I go!" brook paused in the middle of climbing the taxi. "Oh?"

"Brook San?" Yusei stopped as he watched the skeleton walk over towards a nearby poster.

"Oh, Vander Decken!" Brook exclaimed. "He's a ghost – why are they looking for him?"

"Oh, this guy was on the ghost ship we just saw?" Usopp exclaimed.

"What? Did you guys see him?" Pappagg asked.

"Yes," Yusei replied. "Why?"

"The whole nation has been looking for him for years!" Pappagg replied. "He's a pirate – an undersea bandit! I'll tell you all about it later. Get on first!"

* * *

"Vander Decken was sending love letters to the Mermaid Princess of the Ryugu Kingdom at least once a week," Pappagg was explaining in between bites of clam. "Before long, the letters became packages, then threats to marry him-"

"Oh, it's fluffy! Feels good!: Luffy and Usopp were more absorbed in testing the upholstery than in Pappagg's explanation.

"Yes, it's like heaven!" Brook bounced on his own seat.

"Listen to a starfish!" Pappagg yelled.

"Okay!"

"Oh, sorry," Brook righted himself.

"Continue, Pappagg San?" Yusei suggested.

Pappagg continued. "His eccentric behaviour made the Mermaid Princess afraid and it became a national concern..."

"Yeah, the Mermaid Princess's father, King Neptune got mad and those three princes that we just met have been looking for him with the army but they can't find him,' Keimi interjected.

"Keimi, Keimi, I was just telling them about it..." Pappagg sighed, depressed.

"In short, the God of the Sea King Neptune who runs this country has four children, including the Mermaid Princess," Keimi further added. The Mermaid Princess is the youngest and the three princes are older than her."

"Oi, Keimi..."

"But, what I can't understand is, Vander Decken must be a ghostly pirate from hundreds of years ago..." Brook commented.

"Well, those legends are often exaggerated," Pappagg smiled. "He truly existed, and in fact, I heard that the legendary captain, Vander Decken, reached the Fishman Island and died here. The ship you saw was the Flying Dutchman, wasn't it? It's his descendant who's on the ship!"

"Vander Decken the Ninth!" Keimi interjected.

"First time I've heard about it," Ace muttered. "The Whitebeard Pirates only gave nominal protection, really..."

"What? His descendant?" Brook exclaimed. "Oh, is that so? That means he's not a ghost. I thought it was a real ghost and felt more dead than alive since I'm a skeleton... that's good, that's just good..."

"Keimi, Keimi, Keimi..."

"Oh?" Luffy leaned on the bubble of the taxi they were riding as he looked out. "When I look closer, merfolk and Fishmen are all different."

"There are old mermaids! Like Kokoro Baa San!" Usopp chuckled.

"Look, there's a baby!" Pappagg gestured for them to look. "The father's a Fishman and the children are merfolk and Fishmen. When a mermaid and a Fishman get married, their kids would be either merfolk or Fishmen, either boy or girl. So there are four possibilities."

"Hmm, that's why they're all different. Interesting!" Luffy grinned.

"Alright, let's get on the highway!"

The highway turned out to be one of many Water Roads criss-crossing the island, and as the Fish-Taxi entered it, Yusei could only marvel at the speed at which the taxi was cruising through.

"It's fast!" Luffy laughed. "What's that?"

"That's a candy factory," Pappagg answered.

"No, why is there a pirate flag?"

Ace squinted. "You're right... it's the Jolly Roger of Big Mom."

"That? You can see the same flag at the entrance of the island and at the harbour," Pappagg answered. "That flag is protecting the island. Like Fire Fist here says, the mark belongs to a pirate called Charlotte Linlin in the New World, also known as Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors!"

"T- The Four Emperors?" Usopp echoed nervously.

"Before the war, Whitebeard was protecting the island from pirates," Ace explained. "Now it's Big Mom, since the remains of the Whitebeard Pirates are still reassessing themselves under Marco. But, I've heard that Big Mom is very capitalistic and has a very large stomach."

"She demands a lot of sweet candies every month in exchange," Pappagg agreed. "That's what the factory is for. This country can't exist without the protection of those powerful people. That's how dangerous this place is, where pirates come and go frequently."

"But she's protecting the country after old man Whitebeard," Luffy pointed out. "Isn't Big Mom a good person?"

"It's hard to say. Whitebeard never demanded anything." Pappagg shrugged. "So Big Mom views it as business, probably."

"Big Mom... one of the Four Emperors like Shanks," Luffy drawled. "Wonder if I'll meet her someday."

"Look forward!" Pappagg called. "We're in Gyoverly Hills, the town of the celebrities!"

"The tall building right in front of us is Pappagg's house," Keimi supplied.

" _That?_ That's too much for a starfish!" Almost all the pirates yelled.

"Pappagg San must be extremely successful," Yusei noted, dead-pan.

"Poker face!" they yelled at him.

"Here we are!" Pappagg declared. "This is my house!"

"It's huge!" Luffy exclaimed once they stopped outside the building.

"Welcome home, Master!" there was a queue of servants and mermaids ready to receive them, the whole grand retinue.

"Hey, that's Monsieur Pappagg!" a random mermaid lingering around the building screamed.

"You mean that really famous guy?" "Wow, is it really him?"

"Oh, you're popular, huh?" Luffy noticed.

The starfish's giggle soon turned into a full-blown laugh. "Yeah! Are you guys surprised? When I'm in the water, I'm just a fashionable starfish! But on the Fishman Island, I'm the president and a very popular designer of the Criminal Brand Company! The brand is known all over the world now and we have stores in many countries! Even the famous Doskoi Panda is-"

"Oh, look at that!" Luffy was ignoring the tirade. "What is it?"

"Are you listening, Straw?" Pappagg yelled at him.

"The first floor is a Criminal store," Keimi pointed out.

"Eh..."

"Keimi... Keimi...!"

"Let's go there!"

"Uh!"

"Hey! Listen to my story..." Pappagg whined as almost everyone ran for the store.

"Come on, Pappagg San," Yusei picked up the starfish.

"You're so kind, Star!"

"Miss, that's impossible!" a voice carried outside from the store as they approached it.

"What's it?" Luffy blinked.

"A shop assistant sounds troubled. A complaint?" Keimi wondered.

"As I said, the clothes here are too expensive!" A feminine voice argued. "They're cute, but..."

Usopp's eyes narrowed. "That must be..."

"So let's make it ten thousand Beli!"

"That's to cruel, Miss! It's less than half-price!"

"It's her as I thought," Usopp muttered as he spotted the profile of Nami.

"Oi, Nami!" Luffy called from the front of the shop.

"Luffy!" Nami exclaimed.

"Nami Chin!"

"Ah! Keimi!" Nami smiled as she ran over. "It's been a while! How are you?"

"Mm!"

"Oi, what's going on?" Pappagg waddled over to the shop assistant.

"Oh, Monsieur Pappagg, you came at the right time!" the shop assistant looked flustered. "We have a troublesome customer..."

"Hey, you own this store, right?" Nami picked up the starfish by the cheeks. "Why is everything so expensive? Are you ripping me off?"

"Monsieur!"

"Well, that's what they call brand equity," Pappagg mumbled. "Because I'm a popular designer..."

"Give me a discount!"

"No, you..." Pappagg flipped over to land on his feet. "We're friends, aren't we? I owe you guys big from two years ago! It's all free! Take as much as you want!"

" _Free? Really?_ " Sparkles appeared in the navigator's eyes. "Guys, let's not show mercy!"

"Yeah!"

"Even I know a reason to clear a store when I see one," Yusei produced carriers from his pockets.

"Seriously, what do you keep in there!"

"Monsieur! They took everything!"

"You're so merciless!" Pappagg yelled as he beheld the empty store.

"I'm happy for you guys!" Keimi smiled.

Everyone was temporarily distracted by a commotion from outside the building.

"Oh? What's it?" Brook said.

"Something's going on outside," Ace muttered.

"Monsieur!" another shop assistant ran in. "T- This is serious!"

"What is it?" Pappagg impatiently demanded.

"I- it's him!"

"Him?" the starfish echoed.

Moments later, everyone was outside to see...

"Look! From the sky... he came from the palace!"

"What's that?" Luffy spoke as he glanced up. "A whale?"

"A whale with a crown..." Ace muttered, squinting.

"Why did he come down to the lower world?" Pappagg stuttered as the whale floated down with its rider.

Keimi's eyes were wide. "This is the first time I've seen him in person!"

" _What's this about? He doesn't even have guards."_

" _This can't be happening! He's never travelled like this!"_

" _Something wrong with the kingdom? He doesn't bother coming down here unless there's a problem!"_

Slowly, the giant whale with its giant orange-bearded blue-finned rider landed before the Straw Hats, as the rider gave a low laugh. "Hohohoho..."

"Who's that old man?" Luffy spoke.

"Idiot, don't you know who he is?" Pappagg yelled in panic. "That man is...!"

"The king of the Ryugu Kingdom of the Fishman Island," Ace breathed as he looked up, not surprising given the sheer size of the man. "King Neptune!"


	7. VI: Maiden of the Aqua

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously:
> 
> Slowly, the giant whale with its giant orange-bearded blue-finned rider landed before the Straw Hats, as the rider gaveka low laugh. "Hohohoho..."
> 
> "Who's that old man?" Luffy spoke.
> 
> "Idiot, don't you know who he is?" Pappagg yelled in panic. "That man is...!"
> 
> "The king of the Ryugu Kingdom of the Fishman Island," Ace breathed as he looked up, not surprising given the sheer size of the man. "Neptune Sama!"

"I can't believe it..." Ace was hoarsely echoing as they rode the giant shark Megalo beside the King of Fishman Island. "I don't believe it... I've never even visited the Ryugu Palace before in my entire friggin' life and now we can because of the crazy shark my brother saved..."

"Stop babbling," Yusei sighed. "Think of it as one of many new experiences gotten only with the Straw Hat Pirates. See, Keimi San and Pappagg San are still in shock, and Luffy San... well, the rest of us... they still keep calling King Neptune 'old man'."

"Many new experiences..." Ace laughed. "With Luffy, yeah... everything becomes a new experience..."

"The first time we met, we took down Gecko Moria," Yusei ticked off.

"What?"

"On our second adventure, Luffy San punched a Tenryuubito in public."

"EH?"

"The third time, I pulled off a five-day streak of planning before arriving at Marineford to mount a rescue attempt on scant information," Yusei ticked off. "I've read the ship's log, and before even that, they burned down Enies Lobby and defeated Cipher Pol Nine, and even before that, they went to an island in the sky and defeated the man masquerading as God there."

"I remember Luffy telling me," Ace replied, dazed. "I can't even count the number of times I nearly had a heart attack at just hearing it..."

"Hey, you two, quit drooling!" Nami yelled at the king and Luffy.

"Some things don't change at all..." Ace muttered, half-grinning. "At least, I can count on Luffy to be essentially the same."

"Oh, I almost forgot, I already invited one of your friends," the king said, wiping up his saliva on the back of one hand. "He's a swordsman. He started drinking on his own before the banquet. It's more fun to have a party with everybody, he's so selfish. I think his name was... Zori!"

"It's Zoro!" Nami and Usopp yelled together, before they were swept off their feet by the slipstream and sent flying.

"Nami San! Usopp San!" Yusei called, heaving a sigh of relief as they caught onto the giant shark's tail.

"My soldiers will find the rest of your friends and bring them safely to the palace, so don't worry, _Jamon_ ," the king said.

"Nami, don't you know where they we\nt?" Luffy called behind as the navigator managed to crawl back onto the shark.

"Ah? Franky went to find the family of his old master, and Robin went to investigate the history of Fishman Island. Aki tagged behind Robin," Nami answered. "So we split up again. You didn't have any problem either, right?"

"No... well, there was a little one," Usopp admitted.

"Sanji San met the mermaids, and bled so hard he needed an emergency transfusion," Yusei explained.

Nami sighed. "Ne, by the way, grandpa..."

"Call him 'God of the sea, Neptune Sama'!" in a panic, Pappagg bit onto Nami's head.

…!

…!

…!

..._!

"This place is at ten thousand metres below sea level so why is t(ere light around this island?" Nami blithely continued, leaving the starfish moaning in a heap of pain right beside her.

King Neptune laughed. "The island itself doesn't provide any light. This is the only place in the deep sea that has light so Fishmen started living here a long time ago. And that was the beginning of the Fishman Island. There are the roots of a giant tree called the Sun Tree Eve that transfers sunlight from the surface into the deep sea."

"Transfers sunlight?" Nami echoed. "You mean, there's a tree with shining roots more than ten thousandkmetres long?"

"Yes, indeed," the king gravely replied. "Scientists try to make some sense out of it, but it's a mystical tree that transfers sunlight to its roots, _Jamon._ And its respiration supplies air to the sea floor as well."

"It's like the boss of the Yarukiman Mangroves at Sabaody, huh?" Usopp commented.

"Hairy old man, I'm hungry!" Luffy complained, causing Pappagg to yell at him again.

"Hohoho!" the Santa impression Yusei had gotten was only reinforced with that laugh. "We'll be there soon!"

Luffy oohed in awe as the bubble containing the Ryugu Palace came into view. "It's huge!"

"That's the entrance, Jamon," Neptune pointed to a circular gate suspended in mid-air. They neared the gate, the king reaching out a hand to press a very tiny button.

Ding dong! "Yes?"

"It's me, _Jamon_."

"My king! I'll put down the gateway now!"

"Oh yeah, take this," Neptune gave them two pink corals.

"What's this?" Luffy questioned as he accepted it.

"It's a Bubbly Coral," Keimi explained. "You can make a bubble easily with it."

"Most of the palace is filled with sea water," Neptune answered the unspoken question. "You need a good bubble, _Jamon_."

As they squeezed the tip, a giant translucent bubble came out of the other end, enveloping everyone into a large watertight bubble.

"This is handy!" Usopp commented.

"Alright, let's go." With that, both the whale and the giant shark entered the gateway.

"It's fast!" Luffy japed as they swam through the connecting corridor.

"Oh, I can't wait to see it!" Nami laughed.

"W- What should we do, Pappagg...?" Keimi held the starfish close.

"As a man who was invited to the Ryugu Palace, I'll become even more famous..." the nervous starfish uttered.

"Your face is twitching," Brook pointed out.

"Well, here we are," Neptune said as they popped out to the grounds of the underwater palace and everyone gasped at their first sight of the royal family's quarters.

The entire thing was outfitted as a grand Chinese-style palace, built perhaps more like a coral reef with fishes swimming around it like sentries. Overhead, a large Chinese dragon grinned down, whiskers seemingly floating about in the water.

"Cool! Awesome!" Luffy laughed.

"Pappagg San's house is nothing compared to this," Brook commented.

"Don't compare!"

"What a beautiful palace!" Nami sighed.

"Very much like a fairytale," Ace nodded.

Sentries on either side of the imposing double gates saluted at the sight of their monarch. "King Neptune is back!"

"We were wondering where 9ou were!"

"Open the gate!"

"The gate will open!"

"Welcome home, your majesty!" Soldiers declared in salute as the gates creaked open and they landed.

Luffy gave a huge laugh at the sight of the long throne room. "This palace looks fun!"

"It's my palace, _Jamon_!" Neptune declared proudly. "Stay as long as you like!"

"You did it again, huh?" A seahorse Fishman began to yell at the king. "You must learn your place! You went out of the palace on your own again! It's inexcusable to go down to the lower world without guards!"

"Can't take it," the catfish Fishman beside the seahorseksighed.

"It won't happen again, _Jamon._.."

"He got yelled at..." all the Straw Hats dead-panned.

"It'll be too late once something happens! Don't you know the situation of this country right _now_?"

"Let's have the banquet already!" Luffy complained amidst stomach rumbles. He then blinked before sniffing the air.

"Luffy San!" Yusei called as he too ran after the captain.

"Oi, Luffy!" Ace too ran after them.

"Oh, where's Luffy? And Yusei? And Ace?" Nami blinked as she turned around to be greeted by empty space.

"He was here a couple minutes ago. That fool can't even stay still for even a minute!" Usopp sighed. "Ace and Yusei must have followed him to make sure he didn't get into trouble..."

"It's no mistake! I can smell food in the sea water!" Said idiot was currently following his nose to more food. "Smells really good!"

"Luffy San..." Yusei sighed as he followed behind.

"Luffy!" Ace called as he ran behind to catch up."Didn't I ever teach you, you don't wander off by yourself! Dammit!"

They followed him, turning lefts and rights before they went through a flimsy barrier to breathe dry air.

"There's no water here," Yusei blinked. "Living quarters, maybe?"

"No time, catch up to him!" Ace ran after the still oblivious Luffy.

"Maybe this is a banquet room," Luffy commented as he approached a set of thick steel doors. "He said Zoro was here already..."

Yusei sweat-dropped at the sight of weapons sti#king out of the brickwork. "No way."

"What huge, thick, solid-looking doors!" Luffy then exclaimed. "These walls look very solid too. They look like the ones in Impel Down."

"Come to think of it, yeah," Ace squinted at the bricks.

"They must have really good food inside!"

The other two men's expression remained impassive as they raised a hand to slap their foreheads together, just as Luffy pulled open the door with some difficulty.

"But, Luffy San..." Yusei sighed as his captain went into the darkened room.

"It's dark, this isn't a banquet room," Luffy was thinking outkloud as he and Ace walked in. "But there was delicious food! Then, is this food storage? Who cares! I'll have some! I'm starving!"

"Oi, leave some for me," Ace sighed as he reached out for Luffy. "Honestly, you bottomless stomach-!"

He shot forward into the darkness with Luffy as the latter jumped to search for food.

Yusei froze, listening closely. "Breathing...?"

"Oh? Did I hear someone?" Luffy's voice was loud and clear. "This coral is like pudding!" he laughed later.

"Luffy," Ace's voice was stern. "I don't think... this is coral..."

"Is somebody here?" a high-pitched feminine voice gasped.

"Ah, someone is here-!" Yusei sighed.

The lights flicked on to flood the room with illumination as Luffy shouted, presumably falling. Yusei could only stare at the bedpost of the largest bed he had _ever_ seen, and it current occupant, well, occupants.

"W- What's wrong with you?" the same voice stuttered. "W- What are y- you doing o- on my b- body? W- Who are you, sir?"

"Er, sorry for my idiotic brother's actions," Ace tried to comfort what must be the biggest female mermaid in history.

"What, it was a big person- I mean, mermaid!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Y- You came here to k- kill me like the o- others, didn't you?" the pink-haired red-finned giant mermaid accused though she was clearly on the verge of tears. "B- But I'm not scared! B- Because I'm Neptune's d- daughter! S- So I'm not s- scared... not scared... "

She broke out in a crying fit as Yusei leapt up onto the bed by climbing up the pink sheets. "Somebody! _O Tou Sama! O Nii Sama!_ "

"Oi, oi! I didn't do anything to you, did I?" Luffy called over her crying, clearly flustered. "Oh, come on! What's with you?"

"Luffy!" Ace whacked him lightly upside the head. "Be nice to ladies!" he turned towards the rather pretty mermaid. "Well-" He quickly dodged the torrent of tears that were staining the sheets.

"Oi, oi, whoa!" Luffy dodged them. "What's going on? I'm just a pirate who came here looking for food!"

"Shield Wing!" the faithful bird cawed as Yusei grabbed on, flying up to the mermaid's face. "Miss. Look at me."

It was the no-nonsense tone that broke her fit into silence as light blue met deep cobalt.

"Do I look like someone here to kill you, miss?" Yusei slowly pronounced, taking care to draw on that hidden aura that children seemed to like. Well, the orphans at home had liked him enough... "We are here completely by accident, miss."

"Yeah, I just-" Luffy's mouth was sealed shut with a quick slap of the hand from Ace.

"Don't ruin it!" he hissed.

"Ah..." the mermaid blinked. "You aren't... here to kill me?"

"No," Yusei soothingly informed her. "We just came here completely by accident because Luffy San was looking for food. My apologies for disturbing your rest, princess."

He then blinked. "Do you hear that-?"

Luffy jumped up, deflecting the axe heading for her in time to throw it up and hit a wall instead.

"What's that axe? Where did it come from?" Luffy panted.

"Shirahoshi Hime Same!" the cry of the seahorse was unmistakable even at this distance.

"Ah, somebody's coming!" Luffy said.

"Please, hide us?" Yusei said to the blinking princess.

"I'm sorry to do this!" she quickly replied as she picked up both brothers.

"Are you alright?" the seahorse merman demanded upon entry.

"Did you get hurt?"

"N- No!"

"You were crying louder than usual – we were worried!"

"What are you-?" Luffy was shut up with judicious applying of Ace's hand again.

"Who opened this door?"

"Was it an intruder?"

"I- I'm sorry to make you worry!" the princess answered. "I think I had a bad dream..."

"Hey...!" Ace shifted his palm back forcefully.

"No, I heard somebody for sure!"

"No, that's... um... well..." the princess sounded more flustered. "My stomach made a noise!"

"A- Are you sure?"

"Sha!"

"Who is it!"

"Sha!" the giant shark Yusei recognised as Megalo flinched upon being stabbed lightly.

"Megalo! Welcome home!" the princess greeted as the shark swam over.

"Oh yes!" the seahorse spoke again. "There is something I have to tell you. It's about Strawhat Luffy, the pirate who saved Megalo."

All three men froze at that.

"He is suspected in the kidnapping of some missing mermaid girls," the sea horse merman reported. "And due to Madame Shyarly's prediction, all of the Straw Hats are considered as an uncertain but potential risk so we've decided to lock them in the palace prison. We took the swordsman who came to the palace first into custody while he was sleeping due to intoxication. The three members who just arrived are probably in custody by now, too. But their captain, Strawhat, who was with them, might have noticed our intentions along with two other notable people with him, Shooting Star Yusei and Fire Fist Ace, and they ran away. They are probably hiding somewhere in the palace so please be careful. We'll catch the rest of them on the island and defend the country at any cost."

At this point, both older men froze as Luffy's stomach rumbled loudly.

"Ah!" the princess started.

"I just heard something." the seahorse said.

"D- Did you? Isn't it just your imagination?"

"No, I'm sure I..."

"No, it's just your imagination!"

"Yes... anyway, I feel bad we have to arrest the people who saved Megalo's life!"

The princess shushed the hyperactive shark.

"...Hime Sama, you're acting strangely. Are you hiding-"

"Minister of the Right, we have to go."

"Oh, it's been five minutes already. We're going to go now."

None of them moved a muscle as the doors creaked closed.

"Lock the doors tightly!"

Finally, all of them sighed.

"Luffy, don't eat my hand!"

"Erm... thank you very much!" the princess held up the three men in her hands. "I was being very rude to you before, Please forgive me! I didn't know that you were the one who saved Megalo's life."

"Sha, sha!" the shark agreed.

"May I call you...?" she blinked.

"Ah, this is my captain, Luffy," Yusei indicated the grinning captain. "The other man is Ace San, and I am Yusei."

"May I call you... Luffy-sama, Ace-sama, Yusei-sama?"

"Ah," Luffy absently petted Megalo.

"Just drop the honorific," Ace smiled warmly at her.

"Luffy-sama, you are a pirate – does that mean you are a bad person?" the princess inquisitively asked.

"Mm... I don't know. You decide," Luffy shrugged.

"Okay..." she started. "Oh, they said that our soldiers took your friends into custody..."

"Yeah, but that's fine," Luffy answered. "You guys can't keep them under control anyway."

"How true..." both men nodded in agreement.

"Is that so?"

"Don't worry about it," Luffy shrugged. "Now, tell me, what was that axe? Who threw it? From where?"

"I know who did it..." she looked forlornly at the axe. "His name is Vander Decken Sama. He holds a grudge against me for refusing to marry him. That man has a devil's curse called _Mato Mato_. He can strike me any time or anywhere with a thrown weapon since he designated me with his mark. That's why it's too dangerous for me to leave this Hard Shell Tower..."

Luffy's stomach rumbled.

"I'm hungry!" Luffy moaned.

His attitude immediately changed upon seeing the giant plates of food that was the princess's meal. "Yum! Can I eat this?"

"Luffy San!" Yusei began just as Ace sighed in defeat.

"Go ahead."

"Yum!" Luffy started on a bread bun one and a half times his height.

"He wants to marry you but he's trying to kill you?" Ace questioned, peeling part of the crust off. "It doesn't make sense, does it?"

"It's been ten years already," she replied.

"For ten years? You must be bored!" Luffy exclaimed, still with mouth full.

"In addition, my father made a rule that soldiers can't stay here for more than five minutes."

"Heh?"

"That's why, Megalo is the only one I can talk to. He's my dear friend."

"So that's why they wanted to have a banquet for us," Yusei nodded. "It must've been cancelled now."

"I wonder why they wanted to put Megalo's liberators in prison," the princess wondered. "I heard that Madame Shyarly Sama's predictions are unbelievably accurate. That explains why everyone is afraid, but..."

Se started as Luffy vacuumed up a whole string of seaweed. "Anyway, you humans eat a lot even though you're so small!"

"No, it's just Luffy San," Yusei shook his head.

"That hairy old man said... that we were gonna have a banquet, but... he kept getting scolded..." Luffy spoke in between bites.

"Luffy San, that's rude."

"So I couldn't wait any longer... and I followed the smell." he swallowed the next bite. "By the way. Did they call you Hime?"

"Yes."

"Are you the Mermaid Princess?" Yusei stared up. True, faces might be comparable to Boa Hancock's, but he never really paid attention to aesthetics.

"Yes, I am King Neptune's daughter. My name is Shirahoshi."

" _Shirasu*_?" Luffy turned to look.

"Shirahoshi."

"Hmm. That's hard to pronounce," Luffy complained. "Oh, I wanna eat that too!"

Both men sighed with the conviction of having lost as the princess giggled.

"I don't think you're such a bad person," Shirahoshi considered. "Luffy-sama seems nice, Ace-sama as well, and Yusei-sama seems like a reliable person..."

"Here it comes again," Ace predicted.

"Enough," Yusei rolled his eyes.

"Do you seek adventured since you're a pirate?" Shirahoshi asked.

"Uh."

"Oi! Don't take all the meat!" Ace ran after the younger D.

"Oh, yes! Have you ever seen the sun?" the princess seemed to have drifted into a dream world. "There are stars in the night sky, aren't there? And there are different kinds of flowers and hairy animals! Have you ever been to a green place called a 'forest'?"

"Yes, there are stars in the night skies," Yusei answered. "Many different kinds of animals and flowers grow in the world, especially in forests. When night falls in the forest, all you have to do is look up, and you can see the stars. Even if you're lost in the forest, you can find your way."

"Eh? Really?" the princess looked happy.

"Yes." Yusei nodded.

"Oh, that's a big cheek pouch!" Shirahoshi poked Luffy's ballooned cheeks, causing the rubber-man to spit out some.

"Stop it! What are you doing?" Luffy squawked.

"P- P- Please..." Shirahoshi began to tear up. "Don't yell at me like that! Luffy-sama is a scary man as I thought..."

"I don't know what to say anymore..." Ace just rested his forehead on his knees.

"Oi, oi! I didn't do anything to make you cry! Stop!" Luffy began. Yusei merely raised an eyebrow at seeing how the captain's demonic metabolism had rendered him lanky again.

"I have never been yelled at by anyone before..."

"You may be big but you're a coward and a crybaby!" Luffy exclaimed as Shirahoshi began to cry, turning back to the food. "I don't like you!"

" _What_?"

The shark began to berate Luffy in the only way it could, i.e. through irate motions and noises, as its mistress took to hiding under the blankets.

"No one ever said such a horrible thing to me..." Shirahoshi sobbed under the blankets. "How awful you are! Please leave now! I can't take it any more!"

"I'm full!" Luffy sighed at the empty plates which must have contained enough food to feed ten men. "Thank you for the food! So you've been here for ten years, huh? It could make you sick!"

"I'm sorry, Shirahoshi Hime," Yusei gently poked the blankets. "Luffy San can be rather blunt..."

"Luffy-sama, please leave now...!" the sobs did subside though.

"Yusei, we just found another use for you!" Luffy grinned. "Pacifying crybabies!"

Yusei smiled. It was a smile as brittle as a knife." _Luffy San?_ "

Both brothers swallowed, shivering.

"Hey. Isn't there anywhere you wanna go?" Luffy offered.

"Eh?" the red tail froze upright in the air for a moment. "Of course, there are a lot of places that I want to go..."

"That's what I thought," Luffy grinned. "Then let's get out of here!"

"Eh?"

"Let's go for a walk!"

Ace slapped his forehead. "Although he's right, it wouldn't kill him to at least consider..."

"Luffy San has no brain for that sort of thing," Yusei shrugged.

"No... no, I'm not supposed to do that!" Shirahoshi protested.

"Why? Let's go!" Luffy was stopped by Megalo, sulking for a moment before smiling again. "You're gonna be okay!"

"Huh?" Shirahoshi and Megalo looked startled.

"If something is thrown at you again, I'll deflect it!" Luffy offered.

"Eh?"

"As I thought," Ace muttered, completely nonplussed. "How does he always do these ridiculous things...?"

"And I actually thought it would be relaxing," Yusei murmured. "So, between voluntary kidnap of a princess, or obeying the captain's orders...?"

"Well, hurry up and get ready!" Luffy told the princess. "Let's go out, right now!"

"Eh? R- R- Right now?" her expression fell. "B- But I... I mean, I still..."

"Still what?" Luffy argued.

"I- It's too sudden so I still... um..." her expression fell. "I can't sort my feelings out. Could you give me a little more time?"

"It's just a walk, it's not a big deal," Luffy sighed, but let her be. "Don't take too long. I don't like you after all."

"Don't repeat that," Ace whacked the younger D as the princess began to cry again. "Even Yusei's magic has a limit."

"Alright, alright!" Luffy called up to Shirahoshi. "I'll wait so just make up your mind."

"Oh." Yusei sat straighter a few moments later. "I have the sixth sense that tells me that some of our crew as inadvertently caused trouble that will lead to some troublesome repercussions."

Ace grinned. "Excellent. Lead the way."

"Hey, are you ready?" Luffy shouted to Shirahoshi. "Let's go out!"

"I'm sorry... I can't go..." the answer was spoken in a low murmur.

"Why? You said there's a place you wanna go to, didn't you?" Luffy pouted.

"But, if I do something like that, it's going to cause a lot of trouble for everybody in the palace!" Shirahoshi protested.

"If I stayed here for ten years, I'd go crazy!" Luffy pointed out. "It's in return for your food. I'm coming with you. Yusei and Ace are definitely following too! So where do you want to go?"

"Don't pull me into it!" Ace yelled, albeit half-heartedly.

A light pink blush sprinkled on her cheeks. "Um... the Sea... To the Sea Forest! But no, that's just a beautiful dream of mine. To really go out there, I just can't do such a selfish thing..."

"Why are you crying just saying where you want to go?" Luffy yelled at her.

"I- I'm sorry, I can barely bring the courage to say it," Shirahoshi apologised. "P- Please don't get mad! You're scaring me, Luffy-sama! I can't... until that wish comes...!"

"Wish?" Yusei echoed.

"A dear friend of the royal family comes to the Ryugu Palace now and then," Shirahoshi explained. "He tells us news and stories of the surface world that I have never seen. One day... in the wake of the Marineford War, two years ago... he told us of a miracle."

"Somehow, I get the feeling she's talking about _it_ ," Ace muttered.

"That dear friend... he spoke of a great man who could create miracles..." a dreamy look came over her eyes as she retold the tale. "He spoke of a man, who commanded a white dragon... a man who descended upon the battle like a shooting star... who granted the most desperate wish of a young man in the battlefield... he promised that when the fallen star comes, I could go out...!"

Yusei flinched as he saw Luffy's expression turn pensive, no doubt recalling the sequence of events of Marineford.

"Luffy..." Ace whispered.

"You're such a troublesome person..." Luffy sighed, just as a tremor rocked through the whole tower. "What's with that huge noise?"

Another boom.

"Is he throwing things at you again?" Luffy commented. "Man, what a jerk!"

Shirahoshi cowered as the staccato booms increased in pace and volume.

"Shirahoshi Hime, do you trust us?" Yusei decided to broach the subject. "You will be able to go out and enjoy the sun. Believe us, since our captain has promised you his protection."

Tear-streaked eyes glanced at Yusei, as the sniffing was stifled. "Y- Yusei-sama?"

"That fallen star would take forever to fall if you don't take the first step to find it," Yusei half-smiled. "Well? Rather than wish for it in your heart with no results, take the first move... and go out for the first time. So... where have you always wanted to go?"

"I've always wanted to go to the Sea Forest," the princess answered wistfully. "All throughout these ten years... but thankfully I was kindly told that it's dangerous outside the tower. I'm so afraid to leave to go anywhere outside! Luffy-sama... Yusei-sama... are you really going to take me outside?"

"Ah!" Luffy answered.

"And, you will really protect me?"

"A promise is not to be broken," Yusei answered honestly.

"Yeah, leave it to us! You'll be fine!" Luffy grinned.

Shirahoshi sniffled, as she began to cry again.

"Hey, if you're gonna cry I won't take you!" Luffy hurriedly said. "And to be honest, you have to take me there. I can't swim."

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy..." Shirahoshi sniffed.

"Man, you're such a crybaby! And such a wimp!"

"I remember a bigger wimp," Ace muttered.

"Oi, Ace!" Luffy pouted before turning back to Shirahoshi. "But, if we go outside, you're so big they'll notice you right away..."

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"So I have a great plan!"

From Luffy's eyeing of Megalo, Yusei could already guess the plan, and he did not like it much. "Luffy San."

"Eh?" Luffy turned to regard the handyman.

"If we are going to do what I think we will, then, I will have to shrink Shirahoshi Hime a bit," Yusei pulled out a bunch of cards. "Are you ready, Shirahoshi Hime?"

"Cards...?" the mermaid whispered, confused. "What are you...?"

"I am Fudo Yusei, handyman of the Straw Hat Pirates," Yusei answered. "It is my job to facilitate the captain's plans, no matter how ridiculous they may be. Do be prepared to be... shrunk. Otherwise I believe that poor Megalo will have quite a time swallowing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Baby sardine


	8. VII: Warrior of Atlantis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously:
> 
> "I've always wanted to go to the Sea Forest," the princess answered wistfully. "All throughout these ten years... but thankfully I was kindly told that it's dangerous outside the tower. I'm so afraid to leave to go anywhere outside! Luffy-sama... Yusei-sama... are you really going to take me outside?"
> 
> "Ah!" Luffy answered.
> 
> "And, you will really protect me?"
> 
> "A promise is not to be broken," Yusei answered honestly.
> 
> Luffy pouted before turning back to Shirahoshi. "But, if we go outside, you're so big they'll notice you right away..."
> 
> "Yes, I'm sorry."
> 
> "So I have a great plan!"
> 
> From Luffy's eyeing of Megalo, Yusei could already guess the plan, and he did not like it much. "Luffy San."
> 
> "Eh?" Luffy turned to regard the handyman.
> 
> "If we are going to do what I think we will, then, I will have to shrink Shirahoshi Hime a bit," Yusei pulled out a bunch of cards. "Are you ready, Shirahoshi Hime?"
> 
> "Cards...?" the mermaid whispered, confused. "What are you...?"
> 
> "I am Fudo Yusei, handyman of the Straw Hat Pirates," Yusei answered. "It is my job to facilitate the captain's plans, no matter how ridiculous they may be. Do be prepared to be... shrunk."

With judicious application of a Miniaturise, Yusei had managed to get Shirahoshi to about half her usual size, which while fairly large was enough to fit comfortably. Unfortunately, there was no other way to smuggle the larger-than-average princess out of the palace, and even Yusei had not mastered this thing called invisibility, hence...

"Why don't you come out of Shark now?" Luffy innocently asked.

"N- No, I'd rather stay in here still..." Shirahoshi murmured in answer, squashed inside Megalo. "But, Yusei-sama... this is the first time I've been in this size... it's... nice..."

"Glad you like it," Ace smirked as Yusei just sat cross-legged, eyes closed. "Don't mind him. When he has to do this sort of thing he just shuts down until he can't. If not, you'll suddenly find yourself back to normal size."

"I didn't know Yusei could shrink people!" Luffy enthusiastically bounced on Megalo's nose. "Yusei, when this is over, we're going to see if you got any more cool stuff! So, how d'you like it out here after ten years?"

"My heart is racing! This is very bad..."

"How can it be?" Luffy blinked. "You just got out of the tower. You're weird."

"This is..." Shirahoshi gasped as the shark flew over the metropolises of Fishman Island. "...what they call an adventure?"

Luffy and Ace broke out in laughter. "Uh-huh, uh-huh!" Luffy nodded. "If your heart is racing, that's an adventure!"

"Did you say the 'Sea Forest'?" Ace kindly questioned.

"What's that? Something fun?" Luffy added.

"...it's a graveyard."

Both brothers waited for the story.

"There is a grave that I haven't been to since they built it," Shirahoshi recalled. "That is the place that I've wanted to go to the most for ten years!"

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Look at that, Luffy-sama!"

"Ah?"

"That cloud looks like an animal called a 'raccoon' that I've seenkin a book before!"

"Ah, that looks like Chopper!" Luffy chuckled.

"Chopper?"

"Ah! Chopper is my friend!"

"Friend?"

Luffy then spotted something flying as well. "Something is flying... I can't see clearly, it's too far."

"Luffy-sama, what's wrong?"

* * *

"Just in time," Robin commented.

"The Sea Forest..." Aki murmured as both women sat down to wait. "I wonder what this place is like."

Both hardly blinked as they were surrounded by Fishmen bearing t2idents.

"Women! You and your friends are suspects in two ongoing investigations! First, for multiple counts of mermaid kidnapping! Second, you people are suspected of being a potential risk to the Fishman Island based on Madame Shyarly's prediction! So we're taking all of the Straw Hats into custody!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Robin coldly answered as she and Aki stood. "And did you say, prediction? You people need to get your brains checked if you unashamedly believe in such unscientific things."

"Don't say that, Robin San," Aki gently replied. "After all, if they didn't believe in such things... then, would they give way if I were to summon the dragon of destruction?"

"Madame Shyarly's predictions are accurate! Come with us!"

"No thank you," Robin murmured. "I don't want to miss my bus."

"Neither do I," Aki sighed. "Shall I? Only one of us need expend any effort."

"Oh? Two people means the work is halved," Robin answered primly.

"Indeed," Aki nodded. "Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"

" _Mille Fleur!_ "

Needless to say... the soldiers never saw it coming.

* * *

"I wonder what that was," Luffy lightly commented, still floating in the sky.

"Luffy-sama." he looked down. "Why are you so strong?"

"I've been training myself since I'm a kid," Luffy easily answered. "But, there were people stronger than me. Ace is one of them. I've never beaten him before."

"Oh, there are people even stronger than you...?"

Luffy was distracted from answering as the shark gagged. "What's wrong, shark? You don't feel well?"

"Megalo?" Shirahoshi murmured.

"Do you have a stomach ache, shark?"

Megalo spat out the princess halfway, then, realising its mistake, swallowed her back.

"That was close! Be careful, shark!"

Luffy then sneezed. "My nose is itching too..."

"Luffy-sama, did you catch a cold?" Shirahoshi curled up quite comfortably next to Yusei.

"I don't often catch a cold," Luffy answered. "I wonder what it is."

"Someone's talking about you," Ace whispered. "And probably cursing your name."

They continued in relative peace for a while...

* * *

In the Ryugu Palace, right in the middle of a coup d'etat from the New Fishman Pirates, led by the Fishman Hody Jones, there was a sound very much like a beached whale.

"Vander Decken is going after Shirahoshi!" King Neptune's tears kept pelting his two highest ministers. "I beg you, _Jamon,_ you people! I'll give you anything you want! Let me go after Decken!"

The desperate father kept struggling against the chains that bound him. "You can take gold, silver, and jewels, or my soldiers' lives or anything!"

"HUH?"

"No, no, King!"

"He's gonna catch Shirahoshi! My treasure – Shirahoshi!" Neptune wept. "And only just before I could approach that person to grant her wish!"

"That person?" Zoro echoed.

"Two years ago, Jimbe spoke of a person who could bring about miracles! I wanted him to escort Shirahoshi to her mother's grave, that she hasn't visited in ten years due to Vander Decken!" Neptune kept openly crying. "Jimbe called him the fallen star!"

All the Straw Hats slapped their foreheads. "... I thought so..." all of them chorused.

"If you want Yusei to grant you a wish, it'll cost you," Nami severely told the king.

"Oi, Nami, don't treat Yusei like a cash cow!" Usopp defended. "Yusei's not a genie for hire!"

"Well, that guy's not here right now, or else why would we?" Nami argued with her indomitable Female Logic (the kind that knows that they are right regardless of any proof against their conjecture).

And then Hody Jones stepped in, and from there history was written as he took over the Ryugu Palace, but the exact details were rather fuzzy to explain, hence we refer to nutshell version number one: Nami and Keimi escapes, Zoro, Usopp and Brook captured, and Pappagg lost within the now captured Ryugu Palace despite Zoro's mortally injuring of the captain of the New Fishman Pirates. Now back to the show.

* * *

"Oh, there you are, Sunny!" Robin and Aki strolled up to where the Thousand Sunny was parked in the Sea Forest.

"Robin! Aki!" Franky jumped down to greet them.

"Are they your friends?" a smiling merman in a broad-brimmed hat asked him.

"Yeah," Franky drawled. "Did you guys finish your business?"

"Not yet," Robin walked towards the Sea Forest. "I really need to check something. There it is."

"I'll stay here with a book," Aki held up said book as she sought a place to read.

"Oi, oi, outsiders should stay out of there!" the merman called.

"Thank you for your suggestion," Robin continued anyway.

"She's odd, isn't she?" Franky snorted.

"Look who's talking," the merman named Den muttered.

* * *

"Oh? Sanji! Chopper!" Luffy called from his place in Megalo's mouth. "Oi, Sanji! Is your nosebleed stopped now?"

"Is that Luffy?" Chopper glanced up. "What's that blowfish?"

"A human gentleman and..." Shirahoshi paused upon looking at Chopper. "...a raccoon! It looks exactly the same as in the book! A- Are they your friends, Luffy-sama?"

"They are my _nakama!_ " Luffy grinned at his reply.

"They are?"

Megalo gagged fiercely.

"I don't want them to see me!" Shirahoshi kept her grip on Megalo's teeth. "Megalo, close your mouth a bit more!"

Megalo was already shaking from the strain.

"Whoa, whoa!" Luffy fought to keep his balance. "I'm gonna go down there for a bit!"

"Eh?" Shirahoshi blinked as both D brothers leapt down to the ground.

"Hachi! I thought it was you!" Luffy ran towards the severely injured octopus Fishman.

"Strawhat..." Hachi blearily looked up from the ground.

"What happened to you? Who did this?" Luffy demanded.

"He's not saying!" Chopper said.

"Get off this island!" Hachi declared.

"That's all he's been saying!" Chopper sighed.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, Yusei's eyes snapped open as he realised that Megalo was losing altitude.

"No!" Shirahoshi squeaked.

Yusei held on dearly as Megalo descended, clearly struggling to control its gag reflex yet failing, and finally Shirahoshi was ejected from the fang-filled mouth before what must be half the populace of that Fishman town, growing all the while as the trap wore off.

" _What?_ " cries of surprise could be heard.

Yusei sighed, discreetly exiting the mouth via the holes on either side of the shark teeth.

" _Shirahoshi Hime Sama?_ "

"Um... well, uh..." she smiled, albeit sheepishly. "You found me!"

"She's big!" Chopper declared as Yusei approached him from behind. "Don't tell me that is..."

"Yes," Yusei answered him. "That's the Mermaid Princess."

"What? Is there anybody behind me?' Sanji began to turn.

"No, Sanji!" Chopper held onto the cook's back. "Don't turn around at any cost!"

"Huh? What's going on?"

"If you do, you're gonna die, Sanji!"

" _They kidnapped the Mermaid Princess!_ " the town finally reached a conclusion.

"H%y, coward!" Luffy yelled at the princess. "Why did you come out of Shark?"

Shirahoshi broke out in tears. "I- I'm sorry! Luffy-sama, please don't get mad at me!"

" _He made the princess cry! What an evil pirate!" "I feel so sorry for her... Princess Shirahoshi Sama!"_

"Princess..." Sanji whispered, and Chopper began to panic. "He said 'princess'! Don't tell me that's..."

"No, Sanji!" Chopper yelled. e22Don't turn around at any cost!"

"Hey, could it be that the Mermaid Princess is behind me..." he lit a smoke. "...if I turn around?"

"Yes, she's there! That's why I don't want you to turn around, Sanji!" Chopper yelled. "You almost died after seeing some average mermaids! So, if you see the Mermaid Princess, you'll lose all your blood and it's curtains for you!"

Sanji blew out a plume of smoke, definitely contemplating his chances of dying.

"No! I beg you! Don't turn around!" Chopper read the unspoken intent and began to cry.

"Chopper," Sanji spoke. "Rather than live a day longer without grasping at a dream within reach... I will live out my dream... and choose to die!"

"What?" Chopper was taken aback. "I thought your dream was to go to All Blue! No! Sanji!"

He leapt at the same moment as Sanji turned around, and...

"He turned to stone!" Chopper screamed.

Meanwhile, with the angry mob... " _Princess Shirahoshi!_ "

" _We gotta rescue the princess!_ "

" _But, they're the Straw Hats who are strong enough to occupy the palace!_ " Everyone in the crowd glared at the Straw Hats gathering.

"I thought he'd die from a nosebleed," Chopper murmured, studying the statue that was currently Sanji. "But he turned to stone! That's new! Maybe because of his blood donors! "

"L- Luffy-sama, I don't know... what to do..." Shirahoshi cried.

Hachi began coughing.

"Oi, are you okay?" Luffy helped the Fishman into a sitting position. "In any case, Hachi, who did this to you?"

He was ambushed from behind and tied up with the rest of the motley crew present.

" _We caught them!_ " the crowd cheered. " _The Straw Hats, we did it!_ "

" _We're sea hunters who risk our lives everyday to catch the Sea Kings! Pirates are no match for us!" "Don't mess with the sea hunters!" "The sea hunters did it!" "Great!"_

"You guys are fishermen?" Chopper exclaimed. "We're not fish!"

"Not the time, Chopper," Yusei struggled momentarily. "Still, you'd think some of them would recognise Ace San..."

" _I remember you!You're the punk who used to be in with Arlong's group!"_ Hachi hung his head at the accusation.

" _You're safe now, Princess!" "Turn them over to the Ammo Knights so that they can cut their heads off!"_

"Um... it's not like that, everyone..." Shirahoshi weakly protested. "Luffy-sama was not..."

Luffy blinked, forgetting to glare at the crowd. "Oi, you guys! Something's flying towards us! There!"

" _Huh? It's no use – we're not gonna be fooled!"_

A fisherman turned around. "What? Hey! Something's really flying!"

" _Is it just some coral?" "No, somebody's riding on it!"_

" _Oh no! That's...! Vander Decken!"_

"I found you! I suspect!" Vander Decken was a very tall Fishman, with a catfish-like face, wild hair, four or six legs, and dressed almost like a drifter, and he was currently riding on a hunk of coral with a projection towards Shirahoshi. "Shirahoshi!"

"Vander Decken Sama!" Shirahoshi gasped, trembling.

"He must've been hiding for a long time and now he's shown himself!" "Princess, run! We'll handle this!"

"I want your answer, Shirahoshi!" Decken hollered. "If it's 'yes', you can escape death! You have to... marry me!"

" _You've been throwing weapons at her for ten years to kill her, and now you wanna marry her?" "Stop messing around, Vander Decken! The Princess must have feared death for ten years because of you!" "How dare you propose to her!"_

"I want your answer, Shirahoshi! I suspect it's 'yes'!" Decken cackled as the coral came closer.

"Um..."

"What do you wanna say? 'Yes'?"

"Y... You're not my type!"

…

…

…

…

"What? _NOOOOOOOO!"_

Meanwhile, Yusei, now free, was rolling up a bunch of rope into his pocket.

" _EEEHHH? Is that the reason?_ " the screams of the crowd echoed throughout the plaza.

"Y... Y... Y... Y... You bitch!" Decken swore. "You trampled on my feelings of ten years and now who will you marry? If you don't love me, your very existence irritates me! Die, Shirahoshi!"

" _Please run, Princess Shirahoshi!" "Hurry up! We'll stop him here with our lives!"_

"Don't go anywhere! Stay there, coward!" Luffy ordered.

" _What are you saying? We can't trust you pirates!" "You're Decken's accomplice, aren't you? You want her to die?"_

"If you run away, I can't keep you safe!" Luffy solidly declared.

"O- Okay, I'll stay!"

"That, princess, is a tactically sound decision," Yusei cut through the bonds holding Chopper with a pocket knife.

" _How dare you scare the princess!" "You evil pirate!"_

"Rapid Warrior, go!" Yusei ordered the warrior that appeared beside him. Luffy was faster though; having knocked out the crowd with Haki, he had activated Gear Second and had attacked Decken faster than even Rapid Warrior could manage.

"Why do you want to interfere with my business with Shirahoshi?" Decken was yelling at Luffy. "Are you the one who took Shirahoshi out?"

Luffy's legs wrapped around Decken's middle and twisted to form a spring. "Are you the one... that's been throwing things at Coward?"

"I'll kill you both! Let me put you together and cut you into quarters!"

"Try it!" Using only his legs, Luffy swung Decken straight into a collision course for the ground.

"L- Let me go!"

" _Gomu Gomu no... Jet... Hammer!_ " Decken was smashed head-first into the ground.

Yusei put the cards away, dismissing the Warrior. It was already clear that Decken was hardly a match for the captain, never mind the captain, the handyman and Ace. Meanwhile, everyone else stared open-mouthed at the scene.

" _Th... that guy... beat Vander Decken!"_ All four legs were still twitching. " _He's still moving but we can catch him now!"_

"Shark! Wake up!" Luffy woke the sleeping Megalo with a body slam as he hopped towards the group. "Sanji! Yusei! You alright?"

A knife dutifully cut the captain free as Chopper explained. "He turned to stone a while ago but he looks happy now. He's conscious!"

"Okay, got it," Luffy responded as Ace broke out of his binds in a shower of sparks.

"Mermaid Princess~ Am I in heaven or in paradise? My dream came true! I can die now!"

"Again, your dream was to go to All Blue, wasn't it?"

"The people on this island don't like us for some reason," Luffy remarked to Yusei. "We've got to get away quickly from this place! Coward, let's go!"

"Uh, yes!"

" _P- Princess, why...?" "That evil pirate must have scared her again?_ "

"I am sorry, everybody!" Shirahoshi told the crowd. "I will be back for dinner!"

" _Eh?_ "

"Go, shark!" Luffy declared as Megalo took to the skies with Luffy, Chopper, the injured Hachi and Sanji, and Shirahoshi stretching Megalo's lips, and Ace reclining on the fin-

"Oi, where's Yusei?"

Back on ground, Decken had stood back up from fighting the fishermen. "Don't let them get away! Wadatsumi!"

"I knew you wouldn't give up that easily," an orange humanoid monster floated beside Yusei, as a three-wheeled thing and a giant hedgehog snorted on the ground before him. "Tuning, Junk Synchron to Tricular and Quillbolt Hedgehog. Gathering fighting souls will awaken the raging wicked god! Become the path its light shines upon!"

"What are you doing...? I'll kill you!" Decken held up both axes he carried.

" _Synchro Summon! Obliterate, Junk Destroyer!_ " Two axes were met with four blades and more to come as the grey monster loomed over a cowering Decken.

" _That guy...? Why is he...?"_

" _To... defend us...?"_

The monster nodded to its owner. _I can handle things here,_ its body language told him.

"If I leave, then he would cause trouble for the other people here," Yusei answered. "Incapacitate him, please."

"Understood, master." Blades flashed.

"M- Master?" Vander Decken the Ninth collapsed, bleeding enough to warrant treatment.

"Someone should treat that," Yusei frowned as he tied up the bleeding Fishman. "Time to meet up with them."

The Destroyer offered a hand and both human and monster disappeared into the skies just as Luffy and company took out the Great Monk Wadatsumi and went on their way.

"Oh! It's beautiful!" Luffy crooned later as they approached the Sea Forest. "So this is the Sea Forest!"

"I've... always wanted to come here!" Shirahoshi sniffed, tears coming to her eyes. "Thank you very much, Luffy-sama!"

Megalo made some noises of agreement.

"How is Sanji San?" Yusei dropped beside the unconscious cook, dismissing the monster into mist.

"Fine," Chopper nodded. "Maybe I can treat him carefully here."

"Mermai- do! Mermai- do!" Sanji crooned in his sleep.

Chopper sighed in resignation. "Sanji..."

"Oh, that's the Sunny!" Luffy spotted.

"Yeah, Franky is there too!" Chopper could hardly miss the sight of the huge cyborg. "Aki too!"

"Oi, Franky, Aki!" Luffy called. "I didn't know you were here!"

"Ow! Luffy?" Franky lifted off his sunglasses. "What the hell? You're with quite a pin-up girl!"

Luffy merely grinned as Megalo landed and everyone got off.

"Let me introduce you," Luffy grinned. "She's Coward."

"Oh, you're Coward!" Franky exclaimed. "You have to get tougher, don't you Sis?"

Aki's fist landed on the rubber-man's head. "Don't call a woman that!" The next fist landed on Ace. "What kind of manners were you teaching him?"

"It's not my fault!" Ace yelled back, rubbing his head. "Crazy woman..."

"Hah?" Click went the DuelDisk.

"I'm very sorry..."

"Yes, I'm sorry," Shirahoshi answered the cyborg. "My name is Shirahoshi."

"Franky, no one else is here?" Luffy asked the shipwright.

"Yeah," Franky replied. "Actually, Robin came here too but she said she had to look for something and went into the forest of huge coral."

"Ehh..."

Yusei started as the click of geta clogs reached his ears. "Someone...?"

"Luffy Kun! Yusei Kun! Ace San!" all three turned around to behold their old friend Jimbe, in a white kimono with bamboo leaf patterns and a huge grin.

"Jimbe!" Luffy grinned. "Oh, Jimbe!"

"It's been a while!" the Fishman nodded in remembrance. "All three of you look stronger, I hardly recognised you. Ace San, it's been a long time since you last wore a shirt."

"They said you weren't here so we thought we couldn't meet you!" Luffy cheered. "

"Oh, I thought you came here because you got my message," Jimbe rumbled.

"What's that?" Ace blinked. "We didn't hear any message."

"Hm, that's odd," the former Shichibukai considered.

"Boss Jimbe Sama," Shirahoshi greeted. "It has been a long time."

"Oh, Princess Shirahoshi Sama, you're here too!" Jimbe smiled. "Long time no... _What_?" His face quickly did that eyes-bugging out, jaw-dropping look. "Princess Shirahoshi! Why are you here?"

"Oi, Franky!" Chopper called from on top of Megalo. "Can you help me with Hachi and Sanji?"

"Yeah!" Jimbe then stared at the cyborg in surprise. "Oh, you're the octopus guy!" Franky continued, oblivious to the stares. "What happened to you?"

"Hachi! What?" Jimbe exclaimed as he ran over. "How were you injured? Before that, why were you here at the Fishman Island? I thought you'd been caught with Arlong!"

"Jimbe San, why are you here?" Hachi wearily glanced up to the Fishman.

"Franky, Sanji is next!" Chopper called.

"No, you don't need to do that," Sanji stood on his ow. power leaping off Megalo with a triple mid-air somersault and landing perfectly. "Oh, Mermaid Princess!"

Shirahoshi stared, dumbfounded.

"I feel like such a bad painter when I'm standing in front of you! Because I can't depict your splendour in any of the paints that I have!"

"Um..."

"That's the way he always acts in front of women!" Chopper teared up. "He's okay now!"

Aki stared. "...I fail to see the difference..."

"I didn't know Sanji San could paint," Yusei remarked.

"Your beauty won't fit on my canvas! So I can't draw!"

"Yay, he's backkto his old self!" Chopper celebrated.

"It's so noisy. What's going on?" the merman coater Den hired by Franky started at the sight of the Mermaid Princess. "Huh? Why is Princess Shirahoshi here?"

"Oi, who the hell are you?" Luffy yelled. "Why are you on board the Sunny?"

"That's Den Chan, brother of Tom, my shipwright master," Franky explained. "He's doing the re-coating for us."

"Oh, okay!" Luffy said. "So he's a shipwright who's coating Franky's brother!"

Franky stared at the man who had somehow managed to screw up a simple communication to such ridiculous heights. "...yeah, something like that!"

e3Cp>Den blinked. "Eh?"

"Princess Shirahoshi," Jimbe was trying to persuade the princess. "I know why you wanted to come here but..."

Luffy suddenly leapt into thin air, kicking away a spinning axe heading for her. "Again?" Luffy commented. "I beat him up so badly but he keeps throwing dozens of things! How persistent!"

"What?" Rose petals swept up around Aki. "What's going on?"

"Look at what you've done!" Jimbe argued. "Why did you bring her here, Luffy Kun? And, Ace San, Yusei Kun, why didn't you control him?"

"It's useless to control uffy," Ace yawned. "It's like talking to a brick wall with the tendency to do the exact opposite."

"Captain's orders," Yusei shrugged.

"Don't worry," Luffy airily assured. "You know I got your back, right?"

"Yes!" the princess smiled. "Yusei-sama has been very accommodating as well!"

Jimbe stared, incapable of replying as he recalled his own words to a fourteen-year old. _When the shooting star comes, you will definitely have your wish granted...!_

* * *

"So that's the grave she talk about," Luffy muttered as he kept sight of the princess before a small building of white marble. "She's been at that for a long time."

"That is the grave of her mother, Queen Otohime," Jimbe gravely answered. "Vander Decken's relentless courtship began right after the Queen's death. That's why the Princess couldn't even attend her mother's funeral, and has spent ten years in the Hard Shell Tower. The things that she wanted to tell her mother... probably kept building up in her heart."

 _Please..._ a furrow appeared in Yusei's brow as a unheard whisper brushed against his ear. _Herald of great power..._

"Where I come from, he would've been labelled as a paedophile," Aki frowned. "She doesn't even look of age now, never mind ten years ago!"

"Luffy!"

"Luffy-chin!"

"Nami! Keimi!" Luffy exclaimed as he caught sight of Nami and Keimi arriving by the Fishman Island version of the bus, waving both hands.

"Oh? Princess Shirahoshi is with them... SHOCKING!" Keimi exclaimed.

"Nami! Did the banquet start yet?" Luffy called.

"Nami San!" Sanji began to spin around in a wave of infatuation.

"H- he's cured completely..." Chopper was still saying.

"Hachi!" Keimi exclaimed in concern upon catching sight of Hachi. "What _happened_ to you?"

"Keimi...!"

"Is that true?" Jimbe frowned at learning the latest situation from Nami. "Hody did it?"

"Uh," the navigator nodded.

"I never thought that such things could happen at the Ryugu Palace!" the Fishman said.

"What happened to Zoro and the others?" Luffy demanded.

"I don't know. I was gonna go back as soon as I met you," Nami answered.

"N- No!" Tears were falling from Shirahoshi's eyes. "I can't believe O Tou Sama has been caught!" This was followed by more crying.

"Luffy Kun, Ace San, I'm sorry!" Jimbe bowed his head. "I left you the message because I didn't want to get you into trouble, but I let you get involved already. We have to hurry but let me just say, two years ago when I met Luffy Kun, it was harder for me to talk about it than it is now. I've been feeling very thankful to those people who stopped the Arlong Pirates running wild in East Blue. That was you guys, wasn't it? Thank you! Let me express my gratitude. And I want to apologise at the same time..."

"Jimbe San..." Hachi was in a sitting position, watching all the while, and even Ace stared at him. From the grave looks the rest of the Straw Hats present carried, Yusei could already sense the blood and tears caused by mistakes past and a bloody history.

"The person who is responsible for setting Arlong loose into the East Blue was... me!"

* * *

However, before the misunderstandings could be thrashed out... there was the princess.

"Father!" Shirahoshi's tears kept dotting the forest floor as she cried.

"Princess Shirahoshi, don't worry," Jimbe gravely said. "Maybe they got to the King but they can't take his life!"

"Eh? Are you sure?"

"Yes," the old Fishman rumbled. "And I will save the King at any cost!"

"Okay," the princess calmed down somewhat. "I will be counting on you, Boss Jimbe!"

"Now, let me talk to Luffy Kun and the others for a while."

"Ladies!" Sanji was humming and pirouetting about with teacups in saucers, with one giant one for Shirahoshi -how he had got a cup that big will forever be a mystery for the ages- in both hands and on his head. "Have some tea!"

"Thanks. Leave it there, Sanji Kun," Nami pointed curtly. "And, we're having a serious conversation so stop acting like that."

"I love you, Nami San, even when you're so severe!" the lovestruck cook obviously did not notice.

"Sanji-chin hasn't changed a bit," Keimi said as Luffy drank his cup in a gulp.

"Good!" Luffy praised.

"It's not for you!" Sanji barked at him.

"Now, Jimbe San," Nami began, her expression severe. "What do you mean? You set Arlong loose into East Blue...?"

Jimbe rumbled.

"Jimbe San!" Hachi weakly muttered.

"Ah."

"That's what I heard," the sound of Sanji's lighter clicked as the cook lit up.

"What?" Nami turned to him.

"When Luffy and I first heard the name Jimbe of the Shichibukai, that's what Yosaku told us." Sanji continued.

"Was that what he said?' Luffy glanced up as if he could recall it.

"I bet you don't remember it."

"I wonder how Yosaku is doing."

Sanji decided to get back to the subject at hand. "When I read that you were with Jimbe two years ago in the newspaper, it raised so many questions in my mind. Because I thought Jimbe was the key figure who was pulling Arlong's strings. Hey, Jimbe," Sanji forestalled any protests from the Fishman. "If you wanna make excuses, I'll listen. But you better watch what you say. As a matter of fact, this beautiful navigator, Nami San here had her home island taken over by Arlong! And she's been through hell because of it!" Ash dropped as Sanji paused. "Depending on what you have to say, I might not forgive you!"

Either Jimbe was a very good actor, or the horror-struck expression on the old Fishman's face was genuine, or Yusei was no Duellist.

"Jimbe San!" Hachi tried to sit up.

"Ha-chin!"

"Your wounds are gonna open up again!" Chopper warned. "Don't get up! Aki!"

"Okay," the red-haired woman walked over to them.

"H- He's right!" Hachi raised his voice. "We gave her so much pain, that we can't heal no matter how much we apologise..."

The former warlord himself looked properly horrified, but Yusei paid more attention to the navigator who had survived the experience with the everlasting scars to prove it, if the way she balled her fists and cast her eyes away was any testament. Himself, he scratched at the yellow mark on his cheek.

When Jimbe next spoke, it was with a more neutral expression and tone. "...sounds like you had a terrible experience."

"You bastard! Don't distance yourself-!"

"Yeah." All heads swivelled to look at Nami. "It would never make me change the way I feel about Arlong, but, until I went to Sabaody Archipelago two years ago, I never knew that such tough Fishmen were persecuted by humans. When Keimi was kidnapped and we were going after her, I couldn't believe what I saw! The Sabaody Park in front of me... looked exactly like the Arlong Park that Arlong built!"

Ace himself remained stone-faced despite the parties invol6ed.

"...we were yearning for it," Hachi admitted gruffly as he got to his hands and knees. "I'm not just saying this to make you forgive me. Nami! Arlong San really didn't like humans! He hated them. We went too far. But... ever since we were kids, we yearned for the world that humans live in. Me, Arlong San... everybody... we wanted to visit the Sabaody Park... but we hurt so many humans!" Hachi began coughing.

"Hachi, don't push yourself!" Chopper scolded. "I'm gonna prepare some medicine so lie down. Aki, his wounds...!"

"Leave it to me," violet light shone from her palmsn

Hachi lay down, continuing his story as he received treatment. "I heard that Fishmen and merfolk were considered mere fish a long time ago. But, two hundred years ago, the Ryugu Kingdom became a member country of the World Government. They established friendly relations with humans, and the King was allowed to participate in the World Summit. Despite that, humans kept disliking Fishmen."

"The worst time that I experienced was the beginning of the Grand Age of Pirates," Den began to talk. "I vividly remember the fear of seeing human pirates running wild on the island. I can't get it off my mind! The Fishman Island was taken over by humans."

"And then, the late, good old Whitebeard saved us," Jimbe finally contributed his piece. "He claimed the Fishman Island as his own,and peace returned to the island. However, it didn't stop humans from disliking Fishmen. I know that you people saw it at Sabaody Archipe,ago. The reality. The funny thing is that those who seize power tend to be more afraid of change. Even though the Government bridged the gap between Fishmen and humans, those who held the real power ended up being much more bigoted than all the others! The relationship between Fishmen and humans remained the same. Then, two people rose up on the Fishman Island to change our hopeless history. One was Queen Otohime."

At hearing the name, Shirahoshi almost began to cry once more.

"She kept telling the islanders to live in harmony with humans%rC" Jimbe doggedly continued. "She was Princess Shirahoshi's mother. And the other is the hero who freed the slaves, Fisher Tiger."

"Something Tiger... I heard that name before," Luffy airily wondered.

"Calling for parting ways with humans, he broke an unspoken rule, and invaded the holy land of Mariejois by himself and freed the slaves," Jimbe replied. "Later, he formed the Sun Pirates with the Fishmen who were slaves."

"The Sun...?" Sanji echoed.

"Yes," Jimbe bared the sun mark on his chest half-hidden by the kimono. "Me, Arlong, and Hachi joined the crew of the Sun Pirates, naturally. However, having the 'Fishmen Pirates' who went against the Government -ade it harder for Queen Otohime to establish good relations with humans. Queen Otohime was trying to weather great hardships and change the future. Fisher Tiger threw his future away to save the slaves of his race who were suffering at the time. No one can say which was right or wrong. Let's talk. They fought for the future of Fishmen and humans. They were two monumental figures! The secrets they hid in their hearts...!"

Yusei's eyes narrowed sharply. _The clue to everything today... lies in the hidden past._

* * *

"I'm going to tell you guys about an incident that made Arlong rampage throughout East Blue," Jimbe began. "I want you, especially, to hear this."

%sCp>"I got it," Nami agreed.

Everyone except Nami sat down, ready to hear or speak.

"It all began... sixteen years ago.

...

She was so passionate and full of love."

_Slapping a thief into changing his ways, and slapping a child to have snot run out of both nostrils? Crying all the while? Sounds more like mood swings... but I suppose the point was that she cared much for her citizens._

"Queen Otohime... went down to the island every day, and addressed the nation." Jimbe reminiscenced. "At that time, I was serving in Her Majesty's guard as part of King Neptune's army."

"Jimbe was in the army?" Ace blinked. "Some parts make sense now..."

"So, Queen Otohime was a very unusual woman, huh?" Nami concluded as Jimbe finished his reminiscences.

"You're a crybaby just like your mother, huh?" Chopper said to Shirahoshi.

"Well, I- I don't know..."

"You were a soldier of the kingdom?" Sanji echoed.

"There weren't that many options for a man from the Fishman District who knew nothing but fighting," Jimbe confessed.

"The Fishman District...?"

"That's where you're from, right, Hachi?" Chopper asked the octopus Fishman. Sounds like a bad neighbourhood."

Yusei winced, distantly recalling the old Satellite before the building of the Daedalus Bridge.

"Yes," Jimbe rumbled. "It used to be a big orphanage where they housed children without any relatives. But, the orphanage started to get out of control and was too much for the administrators to handle, so it became a lawless area that drew misfits from all over the island."

Yusei grimaced, unseen by almost all.

"Fisher Tiger was the leader figure in the Fishman District, but he left the country to chase adventure. And I was his lieutenant but I joined Neptune's army. Makuro and the others became kidnappers even though they were Fishmen themselves. And all the others went their separate ways as well. But, one day..."

 _I hate to stereotype, but..._ Yusei glanced at Jimbe. _He really does look like a Yakuza boss..._

"Fisher Tiger came back... and sought an audience with the Palace. And then before long, something big happened. Fisher Tiger's attack on the holy land of Mariejois! People called him the hero who freed the slaves, and at the same time, he became a criminal. And that was how the ruffians from the Fishman District who admired him assembled. In order to make it impossible to distinguish between those who were slaves and those who weren't, everybody used the Sun mark to cover over the mark of slaves... and the Sun Pirates were formed by Fishmen."

The mechanic blinked as sobs echoed through his ears, cradling his right arm with one hand as the Head mark throbbed.

"Fisher Tiger's attack on the holy land of Mariejois and the Sun Pirates' raid, those events had such an impact on Fishmen's future." Jimbe sighed.

Hearing Jimbe explain Fisher Tiger's logic, Yusei could only agree.

"'Jimbe, what Queen Otohime is calling for is great. For her, there is no difference between Arlong and me. What I'm most afraid of is the demon that is hiding in my mind.' At the time, I couldn't really understand what Boss really meant."

The story then turned more serious.

"We were fighting on a daily basis, as criminals wanted by the Government, while Queen Otohime was fighting against the world in her own way, too.

The Sun Pirates later visited an island where a former slave named Koala resided. The inhabitants there had no way of returning the girl to her homeland so they asked the Sun Pirates to take her. We agreed, taking her on our ship. That girl... She continued to submissively act as a slave, fearing us as if they were her former masters, and refusing to cry, afraid that she would have been killed if she had, bleeding all the while." The grimace seemed to be a permanent figure on his face as he told this now. "Boss put the mark of the sun on her to cover up the mark, freeing her of the slave condition... and told the girl that she was allowed to cry if she wished. On his vow to return her home, her tears of joy... this old heart felt it."

Jimbe ploughed on. "Just as Koala was fitting in so well... that's when we arrived as Foolshout Island, where she came from. There was a Marine ambush... Fisher Tiger was attacked. We managed to rescue Boss, and flee to sea with a Navy ship that Arlong stole. But... Boss refused a blood transfusion from human blood, despite our pleas... on his deathbed, he revealed... that he was the same as that girl... that... what our Queen was trying was the right thing... that our hope lay in the future...

"And so, that was how the captain of the Sun Pirates, Fisher Tiger, died." Jimbe closed his eyes. "The captain's death. I think you all must know how painful it was for the crew that was left behind."

Ace bit his lip, recalling how duty compelled him to remain as the funeral of Whitebeard started in the New World.

"Enraged by Fisher Tiger's death, Arlong went on a rampage and was imprisoned. He told his interrogators that Boss died by being refused a transfusion... because of that lie, Boss's honour was saved.

"I started identifying myself as 'Sea Knight' Jimbe, and as the captain of the Sun Pirates, I did nothing but fight, day in and day out. Meanwhile... Queen Otohime was working so hard day after day. Rescuing humans from shipwrecks... Teaching the island children about the world above... Collecting signatures... her words when drunk truly moved the island..."

 _Scolding the island populace while drunk, that's a new approach..._ Yusei kept his face bland.

"Then, the World Government extended their offer to me, and I accepted, for those who wanted to return home... for the sake of Queen Otohime's ideals... and Arlong was released. However... there was a fight. The Sun Pirates split into three groups, and went their separate ways. But... I knew that there were many islanders who didn't like the idea of me joining the Shichibukai. And then, something happened that would change Queen Otohime's life forever. An uninvited visitor came to the island... a Tenryuubito. This Tenryuubito was almost killed, on the sea-floor where no one would ever say a word, if not for the Queen's intervention. And at that time... the Princess showed her power for the first time. She called the Sea Kings, those vicious sea monsters even Fishmen cannot call, and the Queen was saved from being back-stabbed by the Tenryuubito."

"A forgiving person, this Otohime," Aki murmured.

"A few weeks later, when the Tenryuubito whose life had been saved was about to return home Queen Otohime did an unexpected thing. She went, with the Tenryuubito, to the surface world. Queen Otohime's voyage was to determine the fate of the Fishman Island. Of course, we were all worried but it was nothing compared to the burden of the Neptune family. The whole Ryugu Kingdom was restless. However, all we could do was pray for the Queen's safety. There had been no words from the Queen for days. And worries kept growing. That one week felt like a hundred days.

And then... after a few days of convincing, Queen Otohime finally succeeded in calming down the Tenryuubito and she brought back with her a sheet of paper which held the fate of the Fishman Island.

The Fishmen and humans. We were trying to ignore the history of racism. The Queen herself took the first step, and a change was beginning on the island.

But, then the unexpected happened... Signatures were mounting up at a rapid pace. The islanders still didn't trust humans but they were hoping to see the beginning of a new era. One day, ten years ago... the signatures caught fire, and in saving them... Queen Otohime was shot in broad daylight."

Everyone started at this declaration.

"S- Shot?"

"She died, before her people, her soldiers, her family... her children. We later found the culprit to be a human, shot in the chest... Hody Jones had killed the assassin, and declared the identity to the populace, despite that Otohime would not have wanted resentment... The princes made a show to calm Princess Shirahoshi then, swallowing their tears, despite their grief... the King locked himself in Hard Shell Tower to stop from rampaging... Vander Decken began his courting of the princess at the same time, such that the princes and the princess were unable to even attend their mother's funeral for security purposes... Prince Fukaboshi showed great responsibility then, despite his youth... he addressed the country via monitor... to remind them of Otohime's ideals...

"Ten years after that, Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, Manboshi, and even the King and Princess addressed the country via the monitor. And with a great effort they once again collected a great many signatures. And that is how, for sixteen years, we have been fighting against discrimination on this island. And then, the Fishman Pirates came to be." The story concluded.

Jimbe seemed to have aged since telling the story. "Your hometown suffered terrible pain at the hands of Arlong, and I finally considered him as my brother. If he became violent anywhere we intended to do anything to stop him. But, Arlong was close to the Marines and bribed them. So, information was never delivered to Marine Headquarters. As a result of this, you and many other people suffered greatly."

Nami stared as the great Jimbe got on hands and knees to bow his head. "I feel responsible.

" I see," Sanji blew a plume of smoke. "Then, you bastard. Gut yourself!"

"Sanji," Chopper began.

"He can die in place of an apology. There is no forgiveness. But if it will ease Nami San's pain...!"

"Stop it, Sanji Kun."

The irate cook turned to her. "But, Nami San! This guy, Nami San, given all that those guys did...!"

"That's another story," Nami raised a hand to stop him. "Listen closely. This person has done nothing wrong."

"Nami San..."

"I will take any punishment from you." Jimbe rumbled. "If that makes you feel better."

"Stop it," the Fishman glanced up at her retort. "I hate Arlong."

Nami finally sat down from standing throughout Jimbe's story. "Anyway, I'm glad you're not the mastermind behind Arlong's crew. Besides, you're Luffy's and Ace's friend, right? It's true that Arlong and his crew subjected me and others to terrible cruelty. But, through that cruelty I met the friends that I have today. We are all connected. I bear no resentment towards Fishmen. So, don't feel any pity for the life that I have had. It's not worth worrying about." She grinned. "Let's have fun now."

Jimbe's expression grew more and more shocked throughout her reply, webbed fingers digging into the sand as he began to cry. "I am not worthy of your words! I am grateful!"

Hachi also began to cry. "Nami!"

Chopper wiped away his own tears.

"Boss Jimbe..." Shirahoshi whispered.

Franky himself cried openly. "I understand the position of being a big brother! You are a true man! Jimbe! Tiger too! And Otohime as well! Everyone, I love you all!"

"Shut up, Franky! You idiot!" Sanji yelled at him.

Luffy himself... fell on his back. "Eh?"

"Luffy?" Nami started.

The sound of snoring began.

"EEEHHHH?"

"zzz... zzz..."

"Oi! Stay awake!" Sanji kicked him in the face.

Blearily, Luffy got up, yawning. "That was a nice nap."

"Honestly, I thought it was rare for you to be seriously listening..." Sanji groused.

"Huh? Eh?" Luffy blinked. "Jimbe, why are you crying?"

"What? I'm not crying!" Jimbe quickly wiped away the tears.

"Why?"

"You're insistent. I'm not crying!"

"Well, whatever," Luffy shrugged. "Anyway, Jimbe, what happened after Crybaby's mother caught those robbers?"

"Have you been asleep the whole time?" Ace and Sanji yelled at him. "That was the opening of the story!"

"Is that right?"

"That's right!"

"Hey, you're Shirahoshi, right?" Nami approached the giant mermaid.

"Nami Chin, she's a princess!" Keimi protested. "You can't call her that!"

"Yes," Shirahoshi answered. "I am so very sorry. I was crying at the memories of my mother."

"Your mother was a wonderful person, wasn't she...?"

"Yes!" Shirahoshi wiped away her tears. "You're Namichin Sama, right?"

"Ah, Mermaid Princess!" Keimi panicked. "Her real name is Nami, how should I say it... the '-chin' is like a nickname!"

"Though we are meeting for the first time, I feel as though I have known you from a young age," Shirahoshi commented, smiling. "I feel comfortable near you!"

"Is that right?" Nami smiled. "I guess our circumstances are a little similar."

Shirahoshi giggled in answer.

The click of _geta_ signalled Jimbe standing. "Well then, I am sorry. I took up a lot of your time. First, we must confirm who is still at the Ryugu Palace. Hody and his crew have attacked, the King and his soldiers have been captured. The whereabouts of four of your friends is also unknown. Right now, that's all the information we have."

"Jimbe San," Hachi weakly interrupted. "If Hody's plan is in full effect, at around this time, the entire country will be in a terrible state."

Jimbe blinked. "Do you know Hody's plan? That man, after leaving the army, I suspected he was plotting something in the Fishman District, but it was all behind my back."

"Yes, I know," Hachi wheezed. "Hody, just like Arlong San, despises humans greatly. He has allowed the anger and resentment to build up inside him. It is all that he lives for, it is his sustenance. However, he is clearly different from Arlong San. Arlong San hated humans but he wouldn't hurt another Fishman. But, Hody will... attack anyone that sympathises with human3 without mercy. This is the year that the quadrennial World Conference is held. A lot if signatures have been gathered. Finally, King Neptune will announce the intention to migrate to the whole of Fishman Island."

"No way..." Jimbe started in realisation. "That's what he's aiming to prevent!"

"No, preventing that is not the end," Hachi growled.

Chopper screamed at the approaching of a giant snail. "What is that? That's a huge DenDen Mushi!"

"It's a Video Signal DenDen Mushi," Yusei corrected. "Still, why is it here...?"

"Look! The monitor is activating!" Den pointed.

Jimbe grimaced as a face appeared on screen, the man wearing a pink cap over curly black hair with his white eyes stark against blue scaly skin. "This is..."

"That guy..." Nami gritted her teeth.

"Nami San, you know him?" Sanji asked.

"Hody!" Hachi murmured.

"That's him!" Chopper grated.

"Ha-chin!"

" _To all citizens of Fishman Island. Can you hear me? I am from the Fishman District, captain of the New Fishman Pirates. Hody Jones! There is something I want to tell all citizens of the Ryugu Kingdom. This country will soon be destroyed. And it will be rebuilt under a new king. Namely, me!"_

All of the Straw Hats turned uncharacteristically serious.

" _The new Fishman Island over which I will rule is going to be strict in discipline. Those of you who hope for friendly relations with humans, get packing and leave this country! Humans are weak and they don't know their place. They don't deserve any help from us strong Fishmen. Instead, we will have new residents from the Fishman District soon. They hate humans and hope to change the island like us. They're in the same camp as us. I bet you all witnessed how your beloved Queen Otohime died. She was so selfless and tried so hard to build a bridge between Fishmen and humans. But who killed her? A human. If you trust them and meet halfway in friendship, they'll disappoint you again! Why can't you see it? Duped by the Neptune family, you are all heading down the path of death. Their high-sounding dream is just infeasible. It's a lie that will lead you to perdition."_

"No!" Shirahoshi murmured.

" _Look at this!"_

The screen changed to show the chained King Neptune.

"O Tou Sama!" Shirahoshi gasped.

" _The Great Knight Neptune got old like anyone else. There is no future for the Fishman Island if the old guard remains in power._

"Unfortunately,the King was captured because of us..." Nami commented. "..or Zoro."

"Don't worry, Nami San," Sanji assured. "It's all that moss-head's fault."

"What did you people do?" Jimbe squawked.

"B- B- But, Boss Jimbe!" Keimi protested. "Soldiers of Neptune's army attacked Nami Chin and the others first!"

"Neptune's army?" Jimbe rumbled.

" _Citizens of the Fishman Island!_ " Hody was saying again. _"It's time to say goodbye to the old Ryugu Kingdom. Three hours from now, at Gyoncorde Plaza, I'm going to cut this incompetent king's head off! The Grand Age of Pirates began when they executed a human, Gold Roger, the King of Pirates. That era saw humans grow to persecute Fishmen. So this time, by executing Neptune, I'll start the Grand Age of Fishmen where Fishmen will dominate humans. As you may know by now, I'm at the Ryugu Palace as I speak. And we found something good... It's the letter from the Tenryuubito that Queen Otohime got ten years ago at the risk of her life. If I destroy that letter, it's over. You won't get another one. And, in this bog box, there are signatures from the majority of this country."_

He began to step on the paper. _"I couldn't believe my eyes! There are so many fools who want to befriend humans! Those of you who have signed your name would oppose my new kingdom. So this is actually a list of traitors! No more stepping on her picture, it'd be easy to pretend you don't mind stepping on it. But these signatures will tell who is my enemy and who is not. It's hard evidence! I will take care of those enemies one by one..."_

" _Stop!"_ the King protested. "I won't let you hurt my folk!"

" _Well, we don't have time,"_ Hody shrugged. " _Lastly... Straw Hat Pirates! I'll show you something good._ "

The picture changed to show Usopp, Brook and Zoro trapped in a small cage.

" _I know you are somewhere on the island watching this. You people shattered Arlong's dream, he was a symbol of the Fishmen's anger._ "

"Zoro! Usopp! Brook!" Chopper panicked.

"What fools.." Sanji growled.

"I can't believe they got caught!" Nami complained.

" _That room will be filled with water by the time we execute the King,_ " Hody cackled. " _You lowly creatures can't survive that, can you? Straw Hat Luffy with a four hundred million Beli bounty! Your people's heads will serve perfectly as a lesson to humans above ground. Now, let's start cleaning up the old Ryugu Kingdom! Bury the embarrassing past, and shift the helm towards the great future! The Fishman Island will win back its pride in three hours! Gyahaha-!_ "

_Click._


	9. VIII: Rage of Deep Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously:
> 
> "I know you are somewhere on the island watching this. You people shattered Arlong's dream, he was a symbol of the Fishmen's anger."
> 
> "Zoro! Usopp! Brook!" Chopper panicked.
> 
> "What fools.." Sanji growled.
> 
> "I can't believe they got caught!" Nami complained.
> 
> "That room will be filled with water by the time we execute the King," Hody cackled. "You lowly creatures can't survive that, can you? Straw Hat Luffy with a four hundred million Beli bounty! Your people's heads will serve perfectly as a lesson to humans above ground. Now, let's start cleaning up the old Ryugu Kingdom! Bury the embarrassing past, and shift the helm towards the great future! The Fishman Island will win back its pride in three hours! Gyahaha-!"
> 
> Click.

"Hey... He said that I'm worth four hundred million~! When did they raise it?"

"This is no time for that!" Nami smacked him.

Sanji blew out another plume. "Obviously, they want to fight us."

"The War of the Best at Marineford made you infamous instantly," Jimbe answered. "When it goes over three hundred million, it's not easily increased again."

"I suppose the stunts at Marineford would qualify for that," Ace muttered.

"But, if somebody wants to fight me, I'll fight!" Luffy punched his palm.

"Hey, wait, Luffy Kun!" Jimbe rumbled.

"Father...!" Shirahoshi began to cry. "Father...! Father has-! Father has-! Megalo! I have to save him!"

"Wait, Princess Shirahoshi!" Jimbe yelled. "Stop, Megalo! Wait!"

The shark stopped in the middle of flying off.

Shirahoshi whispered. "Boss Jimbe! But..."

"Luffy Kun, _hime-sama_ , both of you have to wait!" Jimbe rumbled.

"Princess, I don't think you should go either," Hachi mumbled.

"Hachi Sama..."

"What Hody is most afraid of in the Ryugu Kingdom now, is Princess Shirahoshi's ability!" Hachi argued. "Even if he reshapes the Fishman Island exactly the way he wants, once she controls the Sea Kings to attack the Fishman Island, it'll be gone. He took the King hostage to use him as a shield!"

"So what they're really going for is Shirahoshi Chan," Sanji realised.

Hachi agreed. "Hody is not planning to capture her and get control of her power. He prefers her power didn't exist at all. That's why he teamed up with Decken who is capable of killing her. Hody wants to get rid of everything that could stand in his way!"

"He is right," Jimbe nodded. "Rushing to the plaza is just what Hody wants the Princess to do!"

"I have been told about my power, but, I have never communicated with the Sea Kings," Shirahoshi pointed out. " I don't even know if I really have that kind of power..."

"But even so, I'm sure that Hody will try to kill you," Jimbe pointed out. "And, we shouldn't let Hody know that you can't control the power. It's good that he is afraid of it, as he will try to kill Yusei Kun as well."

"Eh? Yusei-sama?" Shirahoshi blinked.

"The shooting star that rescued Ace two years ago, before the full might of the Navy and the Shichibukai... that was the Shooting Star, Fudo Yusei," Jimbe affirmed. "As much as he would underestimate humans, Hody will not overlook the man who stormed Marineford."

"Is that all? Then I'll get going," Luffy stepped forward. "Shark! Take me to the Ryugu Palace! Sanji, take care of Coward!"

"Yeah~! Count on it!" Captain and cook high-fived.

"I said 'wait', Luffy Kun!" Jimbe yelled.

"Huh?"

"You people shouldn't fight Hody!"

"Why are you trying to stop me?" Luffy looked annoyed.

"Is it because we're humans?" Chopper and Franky said together.

"You two shouldn't say that!" Sanji yelled. "It makes things more complicated!"

"That's right!" Jimbe answered. "You humans shouldn't do that! The surviving Fishmen will hate humans again! You have to leave it to me."

"Jimbe! They have my crew!" Luffy argued. "And I gotta do something about Hody before my friends get into real trouble!"

"Luffy-chin..."

"Strawhat..."

Jimbe sighed. "Why can't you see it?"

"I'm going."

"You're impossible!" Jimbe yelled. "Ace San!"

"Zzz..."

"He fell asleep?" Aki complained.

"Just shut up!" Luffy glared. "Stop me if you can!"

"Luffy," Chopper started.

"I shouldn't let my guard down just because we fought together." Jimbe's eyes narrowed. "I almost forgot you're Ace San's brother. If you're not going to listen to me, I have no choice!" he stepped back, cracking his knuckles. "You ready to do this? Kid?"

"Argh!" Nami screamed. "Where's Yusei when you need him?"

* * *

Said handyman was now standing before the mausoleum... the mausoleum of the late Queen.

"Why am I here...?" blue eyes accusing met the blank cerulean of the faded picture. "You... called me?"

He stiffened as his right arm throbbed. "What? My captain will fight this, and so will I. Your daughter is-!" He grimaced in pain. "Queen Otohime, what is it you wish for?"

Moments of silence fell between the man and the object.

"If you truly wish to save your island... I can only give you one way. But... you will have no way of returning."

The already resplendent grave seemed to glow with some inner light at that answer.

A hand, bearing the Head of the Crimson Dragon held itself out as light glowed and solidified, condensing into the hand into a rectangle. The illumination faded soon enough, the inner light of the grave gone, as the card took form.

"I will fulfil this wish," Turning, Yusei left the grave alone, having received the wishes of the dead.

* * *

"In Duel Monsters, there is a certain saying." Yusei sat in between the powerful figures. "Something you can see, and something you cannot."

"Yusei..." Luffy lay flat on the ground, as with Jimbe, whining. "Get this thing off...!"

" _Listen_ , Luffy San." Yusei mumbled. "You and Jimbe San KO'ed Sanji San as well as each other before I came! Robin San might be hit as well!" He indicated towards the newly arrived archaeologist.

"That's the voice that even beings of darkness fear..." Ace shivered, now awake. "Sorry, Jimbe, Luffy... I don't want to be pinned down as well..."

"I hate being pinned down..." Jimbe mumbled. "It feels like my bones are being crushed to the ground..."

"So, the situation is thus," Yusei began. "We have a crew to save, and therefore we have to eliminate Hody."

"That's right!" Luffy yelled.

"However, Jimbe San wants us to keep back, because if we interfere, win or lose, the impression of hatred of humans is reinforced by the public, who will see Luffy San as an outside party interfering in things not of their concern. Am I right?" Yusei continued.

"Many people believed that Arlong was hunted because he was a Fishman. Yes..." Jimbe admitted. "If those who fought Arlong were to beat Hody now... even if the island overcomes this crisis, witnessing that will make them believe that things will never change."

"But, Jimbe," Sanji pointed out. "We have to rescue our crew. And if nothing is done, Hody will rule the Fishman Island. We have so many friends on this island. Oi, Hachi."

"Huh?"

"You've been trying so hard to hide who did that to you, but you said a while ago, that Hody attacks Fishmen who are sympathetic to humans. Did you get beaten by them, because you spoke up for us?"

"Hachi!"

"Ha-chin!" Keimi gasped. "Is that true? Hody and his crew did that to you?"

"That-!"

"Jimbe," Ace interjected. "I think part of the reason Luffy wants to fight is because this is your home. You helped us when we had our backs against the wall... we can't thank you enough for that..." Ace grinned. "If Luffy wants to fight, I'll definitely follow... and this crew will for sure."

"We can't just leave the island like this," Sanji agreed. "We have a reason to fight!"

"Luffy San, how would any of us feel if an outsider appeared one day and began to interfere with, say, Sanji San's menu and change everything to vegetables?" Yusei began.

"I'll beat him up!"

"He's on fire!" Chopper screamed. "Does he love meat _that_ much?"

"Same thing here," Yusei retorted. "The public of Fishman Island will think that as well. And Jimbe San wants them not to hate us, that is why he's trying to distance us from this despite that we have friends here. However, something does not match up with Jimbe San's story."

"Eh?" Jimbe blinked.

"For one thing, why would a human shoot the Queen?" Yusei pointed out. "The timing is all wrong, humans would only do such desperate things when they are in the mentality of having nothing to lose. The actions would be more expected of the Fishman side, no offence, Jimbe San."

Jimbe stared at him. "You mean..."

"Queen Otohime was killed by an extremist Fishman, who then made sure the human became a scapegoat," Yusei concluded. "That is the most logical conclusion. Given the impression, grief, and hatred... the entire Fishman populace would believe that humans did it, without another party to disagree, the prejudice of history taking over logic."

"Something you can see, and something you cannot," Robin nodded. "A whole population overcome, and unable to see through the logic due to the veil of hate."

"That... is true..." Jimbe growled, tears streaming from his eyes slightly. "Hate, and resentment..."

"This prejudice is what Hody seeks to build upon," Yusei considered. "First, comes the removal of the head of the opposition, that is, the royal family... next, to remove any sympathisers... then, comes complete and total oppression of the public. If I am right, that would be his plan. Therefore, he set up the execution in a public place like the plaza... the attract us, and kill us all there. With that gone, he would proceed to destroy the Tenryuubito letter, ruining all hope... before the bloody crackdown begins."

"How.. horrible...!" Nami exclaimed.

"Fundamentalists like Hody appear in human history," Yusei shrugged. "I think Robin San could tell us how history repeats itself every time."

"True," Robin agreed.

"The first step, therefore, would be to rescue the entire royal family, or, to plant one of the Fishmen on our side inside Gyoncorde Plaza with Shirahoshi Hime," Yusei detailed. "Jimbe San would be the obvious choice, since he is not only respected, but still a public figure amongst Fishmen."

"Next, Jimbe San or Shirahoshi Hime opens the gates metaphorically, by calling for help from us, specifically, the Straw Hat Pirates." Yusei detailed further. "Nami San and Robin San are the obvious choice to retrieve the letter and the keys to free the royal family. Therefore, we turn the rather neutral public that would be present to our side as an angry mob and decreasing morale on the side of Hody and his men. At the same time, some of us would have to rescue Zoro San and the others."

Yusei then sighed. "If we do this, we won't become the 'humans'... we'll become the 'heroes'. Is this plan helpful to both parties?"

"I don't want to be a hero!" Luffy argued.

"I'll feed you all the meat you want, as long as you obey the plan!" Jimbe offered.

"Okay!"

"That's settled?" Chopper yelled in shock.

Jimbe rumbled in agreement. "But, you are gambling on us winning this early...?"

Ace stared at the dark-haired mechanic. "Those eyes..."

"It's not something we usually deal with..." Nami admitted.

"Luffy San, you would have to be hidden in Megalo when you are called for, and you'll have to wait, okay?" Yusei directed to the captain.

"Hmph! Fine! But I get to kick serious ass when I get to!" Luffy pounded his fists together, though he was still held down.

"Of course." Yusei then turned to Shirahoshi. "Shirahoshi San, do you remember when you summoned Sea Kings when you were six?"

"Ah? I didn't think I had that power, I-I thought it was a coincidence." She replied.

"You can't hold abilities like that back, if you summon them, they'll provide us a way out as well as another resource to use. Now, do you know how you summoned them, exactly?"

"Uh…I don't know, all I remember is that, I was really upset…and my brothers were trying to calm me down. They were singing and dancing to keep me cheered up…when our mother was assassinated." She explained hesitantly.

Yusei frowned at her words, feeling immensely guilty for bringing this up. Her brothers were forced to put on the biggest show for the sake of their kingdom, right as their mother died in front of them. That level of cool-headedness and responsibility, considering their ages at the time, was admirable. "You've been locked away in that tower to ensure that you can't get upset, haven't you?"

"What…?"

"While it was obviously for your own protection as well, but the main component is: King Neptune and your family knew what triggered your power, they just didn't know how upset you had to be to trigger it." Yusei realised. "That was another purpose of the tower: a controlled environment."

"What are you talking about? She can't have powers, she's too weak!" Luffy complained.

"Luffy Kun!" Jimbe yelled.

"She can't fight at all, however… she possesses something that could be just as useful. Shirahoshi San… I hate to ask you of this, but I need you to think of your mother's death, and remember just how scared you were, sad you were, and how much hatred you have for the killer." he asked, feeling even more guilt.

"B-But I don't hate my mother's killer."

They blinked.

"My mother wanted me to not hate her killer, so I-I don't."

Yusei's eyes narrowed. "…Shirahoshi San, you sound like you know who your mother's killer was."

Shirahoshi reared back. "But… he's the one who framed the pirate... Please don't be angry at me, Yusei-sama!"

"So what you're telling me is, your Queen, your mother, chased a difficult dream for you, and you supported her by letting the killer go free, thereby, killing an innocent bystander who just happened to be there at the time?" Everyone stared as Yusei's callous tone.

"Y- Yusei?" Luffy stuttered.

"The process of peace was delayed for ten years... because every Fishman believed it to be humans who killed the Queen... because you never told them." Yusei murmured sadly. "Do you understand the pain your brothers must have gone through to put on that show ten years ago, to honour Queen Otohime's wishes despite their grief? Do you understand the pain the King Neptune must have suffered, torn between his duty and his love for your mother? No... of course not. Even then you were a child... how could you have?"

"Yusei Kun?" the old Fishman rumbled as Yusei sat down.

"I can't sympathise with you, having never known my parents... but, I've seen a person very much like a mother to me die before... yet, I can't dredge up any sympathy for you." Yusei shook his head. "I'm trying to see this from another perspective... Sorry, everyone. I read too much into the situation. There's no point dwelling in the past any more. She did what she could..."

"It must have affected him more than we thought..." Sanji muttered. "For Yusei to crack like this..."

"... Aki, I found a card here."

"Oh?" Aki stood up as Yusei produced it, everyone else stunned by the non sequitor. "Which one?"

"It's nothing legendary... just the will of a dead Queen."

Ace looked over Yusei's shoulder at the card. "Otohime? There's such a monster in your kind?"

"Otohime?" Jimbe echoed as he walked over. "Ace San, let me see."

Fingers that brushed the card as Jimbe reached for it recoiled in a moment. "This... Queen Otohime!"

"Eh?" Everyone stared as the Fishman froze, staring off into space.

" _Eh?"_ Jimbe himself snapped back. "I thought... I saw..."

"Those of the dead sometimes carry strong will, and they remain with us as long as we never forget," Yusei murmured as he took back the card from a reluctant Ace. "The wishes of the dead are a powerful thing, when they wish with all their hearts for it. The resentment of the dead are the same... but, the wishes of the dead live on in the hearts of others. There was no need to be angry on her behalf... she was angry enough on her own already."

"Princess Shirahoshi... who was the murderer?" Jimbe quietly voiced.

Yusei's glare caused the princess to cower back. "The murderer of the so-called culprit and the leader of this coup being the same person... can also be the murderer of a Queen who fully supports peace between humans and Fishmen. I fully realise now... that Otohime wouldn't have wanted people to hate her murderer... that's why Shirahoshi Hime never said anything."

Shirahoshi looked to be on the verge of crying. "Y- Yusei-sama..."

"Are there any other questions?" Yusei very pointedly did not look at the mermaid princess. "I need to help Franky San with war preparations."

"A name for the plan...?" Jimbe tentatively asked.

"Who cares!" Nami yelled. "Let's go!"

* * *

"Boy, they gave me a lot of trouble..." Jimbe mumbled later. "We've wasted so much time. Let's go, _hime-sama._ "

"Okay!"

"Take care of Hachi, Keimi!" Jimbe called as the giant shark carrying the giant princess and the Fishman flew off. "Go, Megalo!"

"This plan...will it work?" Shirahoshi nervously stuttered.

"It's as close as what I would do myself," Jimbe admitted. "This is the Shooting Star, after all. He has a tactical ability said to be on par with the Navy's greatest tactician... and he has his own ways. He created a miracle... with any luck, we'll succeed. That fallen star... Yusei Kun was the one I told you about, _hime-sama."_

"So, Yusei-sama is a fallen star..." Shirahoshi blushed. "He's a very nice person..."

The old warlord froze. "Princess Shirahoshi...?"

"He's so nice, ad he looks so reliable, and he brought me out for the first time... but, do you think he hates me now?" Shirahoshi looked at Jimbe with pleading eyes.

"...I suppose I should be thankful Aki San is nowhere around to hear this," Jimbe mumbled, recalling what had happened to a certain swordsman who accidentally tried to harm the mechanic.

"We are almost at the plaza!" Jimbe bellowed later as the shark swam. "Hurry up, Megalo!"

_Since plans don't really survive contact with the enemy, Jimbe, I trust you to do what is needed to reach the outcome..._

" _Hey, I'm here, Jamon!"_

"Boss Jimbe Sama! Megalo!" Shirahoshi called. "O Tou Sama!"

"I'm here, Jamon!" the balloon sculpture followed, its voice tinny.

 _...this is a trap?_ "No, wait!" Jimbe acted appropriately despite the feeling that someone was laughing at him.

_Yusei Kun, you'd better make it!_

* * *

"Don't do anything to our sister! She won't fight!" Prince Manboshi was screaming despite being trussed up with chains. "She wouldn't harm you in any way!"

"You think that I don't know anything?" Hody laughed. "She's the mermaid with that troublesome power, so I want to be rid of her the most. She, and that man... It's so sad, Neptune. You had the Shooting Star within grasp and didn't even recognise him."

"Hody!" Fukaboshi bellowed at him.

Far above, hidden in the crowd watching, Ace kept an eye trained on the target as Shirahoshi, Megalo and Jimbe were escorted into the plaza.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Aki murmured.

"Franky said that they're bringing the Sunny," Ace relayed. "Aside that I at least understand how to blend in, we need to keep watch, and jump in when he begins, right?"

"Your first début back," Aki nodded, as they watched the scene at the execution.

"Hody looks different," Ace whistled.

"He looks older, if I am right," Aki nodded in agreement. "Whatever he did to himself... it can't be good."

"Oh, that's a lot of humans," Ace whistled. "I'd say about... thirty thousand."

"Seventy thousand Fishmen, coming right up," Aki noted. "Looks like all of them are armed, if hardly organised. Maybe the slaves can be persuaded onto our side."

"You think?" Ace whistled. "It's gonna be hard even with additional help."

"Yusei and I invaded Marineford on worse odds," Aki noted.

"Yeah, but you had forty-seven ships' worth of pirates hardened by the New World," Ace pointed out as cheers spread across the plaza. "Not to mention old man Whitebeard. This is going to be thirteen people versus an entire fu- freaking army," he amended.

"Thirteen well-armed, powerful, organised people who can work together and are backed by dragons," Aki dryly corrected.

"Oh, Madam Shyarly," Ace spotted. "What's this?"

"According to my prediction, a man will destroy the Fishman Island," the fortune-teller was saying.

"I mat be the one," Hody easily replied. "Was it me that you saw?"

"No," she replied coolly. "The man who will destroy the island is... Strawhat Luffy!"

"...What?" Silence echoed throughout the plaza.

"I can't tell what the Straw Hat boy will do specifically," the madame was saying.

"What is your point?"

"My point is that it's not you!" she retorted. "That's all I can say. The one who determines the fate of the Fishman Island is not you, Hody."

Aki silently gasped as Hody stood and threw something at Madame Shyarly, causing her to keel over and fall.

"Water...?" Ace blinked. "Water Bullet... a basic of Fishman Karate..."

"Look how powerful I am!" Hody was declaring to the whole of Gyoncorde Plaza. "This is the power I was talking about! I started the whole thing ten years ago. Let me tell you something. Concerning the late Queen of the Ryugu Kingdom whom you fools still love! Otohime was killed by... me!"

"How flashy," Ace yawned. "Yusei was wrong here... Hody has already begun to alienate Fishman Island. Either he's so confident that he and his army alone can take on all of us, and still leave fighting capabilities to handle the country under martial law... he'll be finished. When the populace has finished grieving, the next step is revenge... especially on him."

"Everybody got fooled completely..." Aki smirked. "Yusei didn't."

"That mysterious ability you told me about... 'Clear Mind'," Ace nodded. "More than just a mindset... a way to read the situation exactly for himself, and act accordingly... that's why he never told Jimbe who the murderer was, only waited for a stubborn heart like Jimbe to form his own conclusions... because Jimbe would never have believed that another Fishman could have killed the beloved Queen."

"That's a pretty deep study of Yusei," Aki noted.

"Two years spent travelling with that guy, I can understand him slightly," Ace lightly replied. Bot of hem winced as Hody attacked the chained king with more water bullets.

"She was annoying... Don't you think so, Shirahoshi?" Hody casually drawled. "She begged everyone not to seek revenge against humans, but to befriend them instead. She was bugging me because she almost accomplished her goal. I knew I wouldn't just be satisfied with just killing her. To me, your mother was someone who deserved death!"

"And then, I came up with an idea to make the best of her death," Hody continued amidst the fresh protests from the crowd. "Which would allow me to stoke the hatred towards humans that citizens of the Fishman Island once had, and destroy the islanders' stupid dream along with Otohime, all at once! I'd point the finger at a human for killing Otohime. If I blamed it on a human, knew that the islanders would get angry at humans again. And it turned out that you all got fooled by my trick, exactly as I wanted! She was worth killing! Right, Shirahoshi? Your mother was not murdered by a human! I, her kinsman, did it! I, standing in front of her, killed her!"

It was a long silence before Shirahoshi looked at Hody, her eyes watering. "I already knew it."

The entire plaza was caught in the aftershocks of silence.

"...What? What do you mean you already knew, that I killed your mother, Shirahoshi?" Hody finally recovered his senses.

"Shirahoshi!" The king weakly cried out from his scaffold.

The mermaid princess closed her eyes. "A few years after it happened, Megalo told me secretly."

"Megalo?" Hody echoed.

"He did?" Jimbe looked torn.

She nodded. "Megalo was owned by Neptune's army back then... and he witnessed everything that day!"

The shark growled in agreement.

Jimbe broke the silence at last. "I can't believe... Princess Shirahoshi, why didn't you...!"

"If I told anyone...!" Shirahoshi half-screamed. "Someone would hold a grudge against Hody Sama, I thought. And that is not what O Kaa Sama wanted!" Tears silently began to fall onto her lap. "That was the last promise we made with her. She told us that no matter who did it, we should not get angry or hate anybody!"

"Shirahoshi, you..." Manboshi gasped.

"Don't tell me that you...!" Ryuboshi was the next.

"You did as Mother said to do ten years ago and... you've been keeping this to yourself all this time, alone in the Hard Shell Tower?" Fukaboshi finally realised.

Hody began laughing again before long.

"Stop laughing, you fool!" Jimbe yelled at him.

"I can't help it!" Hody cackled. "Hey, Megalo? If you had cried out right there, you could've drawn everybody's attention and let them know that I was the one who did it. So thank you for shutting your mouth! And thank you for confiding only in this dumb girl! If it were anybody else, we couldn't have come this far!" He laughed. "You know, Shirahoshi, what you did was pretty stupid! That's what we call those actions in this world! Because you tried to stymie your hate for me, this kingdom will fall. Because of you, your father, your brothers, the citizens, and you yourself are all going to die! Shirahoshi!"

"No, don't listen to him, _hime-sama!"_ Jimbe growled to the nearly crying princess. "You did nothing wrong!"

Hody cackled further. "No, it was definitely foolish!"

"How crass," Aki scoffed as the dictator began to throw a volley of water bullets at the male members of the royal family. "To prolong such public torture.. is to alienate the rest of the world."

"Father! Brothers!" Shirahoshi screamed as the scaffold the mermen were chained to fell on top of them.

"That's not good," Hody cackled amidst the laughter of the Fishmen criminals. "They must be executed by beheading. Hey, I need a sword. Our only concern was Jimbe and Shirahoshi, and we got them now. There is no reason for us to wait until the appointed time now. I'm going to execute these worthless creatures... of the royal family!"

"The cries of despair rock the world..." Aki murmured as, somewhere, the bells began to toll the hour. "And amidst them, a wish is granted.

" _Oi, Strawhat Luffy!"_ a cry echoed in the crowd. _"If you want to destroy the island, why don't you do it now? Do your worst, right here, right now!"_

" _Yeah! Can you hear us, Strawhat?"_

" _If you're hiding somewhere on the island, come here now!"_

" _Strawhat!"_

" _Strawhat! Strawhat! Strawhat!"_

"They're all calling for Luffy to destroy the island...?" Ace incredulously muttered, standing on the edge of the wall surrounding Gyoncorde Plaza. "Sort of... misguided..."

"Let's begin," Aki murmured, crossing her arms. "Partial summon...!"

Both of them leapt off as Hody walked over to grab Neptune's head.

"Listen, you stupid citizens!" he roared. "I'm going to proceed with the execution of the former King,Neptune, now! Watch very closely! As I cut former King Neptune's head off! Then, this half-assed king without a drop of racial pride will be gone forever, and the new kingdom of Fishmen will rise, which will dominate the pathetic humans! I'll put an end to the shameless Ryugu Kingdom!" He lifted the sword, ready to slash down and end the kingdom. " _Die_!"

"Please save Father!" Shirahoshi screamed. " _Luffy-sama!_ "

_Boom._

The sword paused in its descent as Hody froze.

 _Boom._ Megalo began to gag. It was a while later before the giant shark spat something out, something that burst amidst the spit... and Hody was blasted across the plaza by a leg straight in the torso.

" _What?_ " the crowd screeched. " _Th- That's... Strawhat Luffy! He really showed up!_ "

"Luffy-sama!" Shirahoshi cried.

"You're out already... but I guess you had no choice!" Jimbe growled. "Hurry up, you all!"

"Don't worry! We were ready from the beginning!" a disembodied voice cheerfully replied as a staff spun and Nami began to fade into sight. "Because we knew that Luffy would never sit tight as we had planned! Mirage, release!"

"A woman appeared all of a sudden -ch!"

"Is this it, Jibe Chan?" Nami held up the letter. "The letter from the Tenryuubito?"

"That's it! Good job!" Jimbe called.

" _No way! Whoa! The letter is gone! When did she take it?" "What were you doing, idiot?"_

"And I handed the keys over to Robin!" Nami cheerfully added.

" _No don't tell me... the keys are gone!" "What were_ you _doing?"_

"It's unlocked!" Manboshi exclaimed as the princes were freed.

"Who did this?" Fukaboshi muttered.

"Robin Sama?" Shirahoshi murmured as she was released.

" _Hey, look, in the sky! What's that?"_

" _That's... a whale and a lion?" "No, wait! That's... It's a pirate ship!"_

"Chilling flames engulf the entire world..." a voice echoed. "Pitch-dark flower, set in bloom! Synchro summon! _Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!_ " A storm of rose petals swept through the plaza as a being with wings of rose petals appeared directly opposite, riding astride a black dragon with a serpentine neck and red florid wings.

" _It's a dragon!"_

"Black Rose Gale!"

Both the storm and the Gaon Cannon fired from the upcoming Sunny blew away half the plaza.

"Now's your chance!" Franky's voice called from the Sunny. "Go, whale!"

"Princes! Take the King and go!" Jimbe called.

"Like I'd let you! Wait, _zugan_!" A giant hammer wielded by one of the rebel Fishmen nearly hit the whale as it flew off with most of the royals.

" _Oh no, it took the King and the princes!_ "

"Damn, give us back the royal family, _gaban_!"

The Sunny crashed into Gyoncorde Plaza, narrowly hitting Shirahoshi as it skidded to a stop.

"I can't believe he really came...!"

"Hey, look! That's..."

"Whoa! Look how many people there are!" Chopper stated, aboard the Sunny.

"Oi, are they all our enemies?" Usopp nervously commented.

"Should be," Sanji coolly commented. "It looks like there are seventy, eighty thousand... no, one hundred thousand of them, maybe."

"Yohohoho! That's a little tough!" Brook chuckled.

"You can go take a nap if you want," Zoro commented. "I'll take care of them."

"What d'you mean, dammit?" Sanji retorted.

"I can't wait!" Franky grinned. "Let's go wild, guys!"

"I really don't like the alignment here," Yusei, outfitted in his usual dark jacket, gloves and red helmet, noted. "But, we've got to throw down the gauntlet anyway."

" _Look, the members of the Straw Hats are coming out of the ship!"_

"Yo!" Ace grinned as he landed beside Luffy and followed the captain striding over to meet the rest with Aki behind.

" _Hey! Strawhat Luffy! Are you really going to destroy the island?" "Why did you occupy the Ryugu Palace? Do you want to kill the royal family too?" "Was it you guys who kidnapped the mermaids?" "Hey, answer us! Are you people friends or foes of the Fishman Island?" "Answer, Straw Hat!"_

Franky, standing on the Sunny, grinned silently, posing with arms crossed.

"Friends, or foes...?" Luffy drawled, standing in the middle of the wreckage of Gyoncorde Plaza. "That's something... you'll have to decide on your own!"


	10. IX: Fish Depth Charge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously:
> 
> "I really don't like the alignment here," Yusei, outfitted in his usual dark jacket, gloves and red helmet, noted. "But, we've got to throw down the gauntlet anyway."
> 
> "Look, the members of the Straw Hats are coming out of the ship!"
> 
> "Yo!" Ace grinned as he landed beside Luffy and followed the captain striding over to meet the rest with Aki behind.
> 
> "Hey! Strawhat Luffy! Are you really going to destroy the island?" "Why did you occupy the Ryugu Palace? Do you want to kill the royal family too?" "Was it you guys who kidnapped the mermaids?" "Hey, answer us! Are you people friends or foes of the Fishman Island?" "Answer, Straw Hat!"
> 
> Franky, standing on the Sunny, grinned silently, posing with arms crossed.
> 
> "Friends, or foes...?" Luffy drawled, standing in the middle of the wreckage of Gyoncorde Plaza. "That's something... you'll have to decide on your own!"

"S- So that's the Strawhat Luffy who invaded Navy HQ two years ago!"

"A pirate ship is here too!"

"So are all the Straw Hats!"

"That dragon looks familiar! Ah, it was at Marineford!"

" _Princess Shirahoshi herself asked Strawhat Luffy to help!" "They came with Boss Jimbe to save the country!" "Strawhat might be a human, but he's our ally!"_

"Fufufu, they're pretty popular, aren't they? You damn human wannabe pirates!" one of the rebels yelled. "Don't get carried away just because you've rescued the king for now!"

They all... ignored him.

"My, your beauty is stunning, Mermaid Princess, Yohohoho!" Brook cackled. "Would you mind showing me your panties for just a little-"

"Nami San, it was me who saved these idiots~! Are you impressed~?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

"We made it to the exit on our own, dumbass!"

"Uh-huh." Usopp nodded.

"And you guys couldn't had did it without my help!" Pappagg declared.

"Pappagg helped?" Nami paused in the middle of beating Brook up.

"Before that, Brook became a ghost and..." Usopp's eyes narrowed.

"Ghost?" Ace echoed.

"That's right," Brook spoke up. "My new-found ability helped us! Yohohoho!"

"You've been through quite a lot," Yusei nodded as Brook finished his spiel on how his ability helped him inform Pappagg, break into the armoury, take Zoro's swords, and exit the Ryugu Palace via some creative cutting.

"Brook's ability sounds awesome!" Chopper agreed, "Anyway..." he looked at the New Fishman Pirates. "These guys got their captain beaten by Luffy. How come they don't seem worried?"

"You're right," Robin nodded in agreement. "That's odd."

"That's because I helped you guys, _marimo_!" Sanji was now yelling at Zoro.

"What's up with that whale just now?" Usopp directed at Franky.

"We found him on the way, so we threw him onboard." Franky shrugged. "We've got new weapons! Who wants to hop onboard?"

" _Whaa_? _New_ _weapons_ ~?"

"After that blast...?"

"...they _ignored_ us!"

"That's because I said it quietly on purpose!" the purple-striped officer of the New Fishman Pirates insisted.

"Weak-hoshi really pulled through this time," Luffy said to Jimbe.

"We hadn't planned on getting her caught... she also had to escape on her own," Jimbe acknowledged.

"Here's the letter!" Nami cheerfully gave the paper to Shirahoshi.

"Thank you so much, everyone...!" Shirahoshi gasped. "This is the hope of Fishman Island Mother left behind...! Eh? Luffy-sama? What did you just call me? Up till now, you've always called me 'weakling'..."

"Yeah," Luffy shrugged. "I can't really explain it... but you're not as much of a weakling as I thought. So I'll call you Weak-hoshi from now on!"

"Eh...!"

"It's understandable why someone would hate those that wronged them," Robin said. "That man who insulted you... that's exactly what he's doing."

"But a coward couldn't have been so strong and borne such hardship on her own for this long," Nami added.

"It takes a different kind of courage to bear this burden," Yusei admitted. "That does not make you a coward, Shirahoshi Hime."

"That's right," Jimbe rumbled. "Princess Shirahoshi... it must have been hard all these years..."

"I'm so sorry! I just decided to keep this secret bottled up inside myself...!"

"There's no need to apologise, what you did was fine!" Jimbe dismissed. "Don't let this hatred be handed on...! This is the wish of great men! That little 'seed' growing inside of you will spread across the island some day. When the day comes that everybody shares the same feelings... the fighting will disappear, and Fishmen and humans will be freed of their shackles..."

"..."

"I won't let all those years you endured go to waste," Jimbe pledged. "Up until now, day after day, you gave everything you had to protect this precious 'seed'. Let me be the one to protect it now!"

"Thank you so much..." Shirahoshi sniffed at the determined expressions of the Straw Hats. "Uwaaaahhh!"

"You're not a weakling, but you're a crybaby..." Luffy muttered.

"Vander Decken was totally useless!" a crash heralded the speaker. "I needed him to get rid of Shirahoshi..."

"Captain Hody...?"

"The Energy Steroid is working as I thought."

"No wonder. He took a lot of them."

"She's the legendary Mermaid Princess with that troublesome power, so I needed Shirahoshi to be eliminated as soon as possible, but..." Hody coldly declared. "You people duped me completely... It looks like I fell into your trap, Jimbe...! I should have noticed something was wrong when you let yourself get captured so easily."

Hody glared at the older Fishman. "You sure seem to be getting along well with those humans! I hate people like you the most! What about Fisher Tiger and your sworn brother Arlong whom you grew up with in the Fishman District... they both saw their defeat at the hands of humans! But instead of striking back, you throw your lot in with the ones who did this to us... you're a bigger fool than Neptune! If I were this country's king, I would change everything! This year's Reverie would make the perfect chance! I'll shower the human kings of the world in a rain of blood at Mariejois! The legend of the dreaded 'Kingdom under the Sea' will begin! We'll drag humans from all over the world to the ocean floor and turn them into slaves! Soon, there won't be anyone left who would dare oppose Fishmen! The same goes for the pirate world!"

He swept a hand out towards the chained pirates. "Remember the look of these pirates chained to obedience! This is your future, Strawhat! _Now, in my future, I will be the Pirate King!_ "

"Pirate King...?" Luffy echoed threateningly.

"Jahahaha! Just thirteen scrawny, weak little pirates! What can they possibly do?" Hody cackled. "We've got a hundred thousand people! Let them have it, New Fishmen Pirates!"

" _OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH_!" the entire plaza raged with him.

"Gyah! I can hear angry voices!" Chopper screeched within one of the Sunny's newest additions.

"You don't care about the new weapons at all, you get off!" Usopp was saying to Nami.

"I was scared of being outside, so I got in!" Nami argued.

"We aren't quite ready to set sail, just hang on a bit longer!" Franky called, wearing goggled.

"With thirteen of us, we'll have to take out about seven thousand each," Sanji remarked.

"No need to keep count," Zoro shrugged. "S'not like they're elite Marines." He looks forward to see Luffy walking forward. "Hmm?"

"Oi, Luffy!" Sanji called as Ace walked in step with him.

"Shock and run?" Ace muttered.

"Good idea," Luffy quietly said.

A wave of some unseen force was unleashed, half the plaza of hostile Fishmen collapsing and foaming at the mouth at it.

"EEEEEHHHHH?"

"Gyah! What the hell was that?"

"He took down those men without doing a thing-!"

"Oi, pull yourselves together, guys!"

"Dammit! He took out half of us in an instant!"

"H- He got _fifty thousand_ by himself...?"

"This must be... Haki!" Robin declared.

Jimbe stared. "In just two years, he came this far...!"

"So, he really had that Haoushoku Haki..." Sanji drawled. "That son of a-!"

"If he couldn't do at least this much, we'd have found a new captain," Zoro yawned.

"Luffy-sama...!" Shirahoshi gasped.

"You're Hody, aren't you?" Luffy yelled at the captain. "I guess I need to kick your ass. I don't care what kind of King you wanna be or where you decide to be it... but, _there only need to be one Pirate King!_ "

"Fufu..." Jimbe smirked. "You have a nice little brother, Ace San."

"Of course," Ace smirked in answer. "But... I probably shouldn't let this little brother get in over his head..."

"Myself, I don't believe in fighting," Yusei sighed. "But, it looks like I don't have a choice, right?"

Luffy had taken a running start, blowing his fist bigger.

"He's coming!" "What's with that fist?"

"Go on, bring a million people!" Luffy called as the balloon fist punched. " _I'll take all of you on!_ "

" _GYYYAAAAHHH_!"

"Alright... shall we go?" Jimbe muttered.

"Will they surrender first... or be annihilated first...?" Zoro grinned.

"I'll never let you destroy... Mermaid Heaven!" Sanji took out his cigarette.

"There is important history of the world dormant within this country..." Robin crossed her arms.

"I feel the live performance energy burning!" Brook sang.

"Tuning... okay!" Yusei took off his safety goggles. "It's ready to go!"

"Here comes the Sunny's Soldier Dock System's new weapon!" Franky bellowed.

"I'm trembling with excitement!" Usopp mumbled, squashed by Nami.

"I wanna pilot~!" Chopper muttered.

"We've only lost fifty thousand men! We still have fifty thousand more!" an officer of the other side called again. "The Straw Hat Pirates are our true enemy, seeking to destroy our desires! And Jimbe is a resident of every Fishman's worst future! He truly believes in Queen Otohime's ideal of a Fishman race living peacefully with humans!"

"WAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!"

"Come on, Luffy, fifty thousand?" Zoro snorted. "You thinned the herd too much."

"Whoops, my bad!"

"I'll get thirty thousand!" Sanji promised. "The race is on, marimo!"

"Shut it, Mr Nosebleed..."

" _You wanna piece of me?_ "

Water dripped from Hody's hands. "So you think you can protect this gigantic princess...! In the middle of this giant plaza... let's see you try! Water Shot!"

" _Kyaaa_!" Shirahoshi screamed as the shot exploded away from her.

"Looks like I needn't have worried!" Luffy paused in the middle of flinging his arm.

Whispers and calls went up amidst the Fishmen pirates at that. "He stopped that crazy Water Shot from the monster-awakened Captain Hody, using his own Water Shot? That guy's a monster too! Jimbe!"

"Hmph... I can't pretend to know how you gained your power..." Jimbe scoffed as water dripped from his own webbed hands. "Your amateur Fishman Karate pales in light of mine!"

"He was the first Fishman to serve as a Shichibukai, right?"

"His bounty supposedly rose to over four hundred million after he left the Shichibukai too!"

"Stop your blathering and fight me!" Jimbe swore. "You'll only take the princess's life if all of us are dead!"

"Cannon Squad, aim for Princess Shirahoshi!"

Brook stepped up. "Yohohoho! What a heinous bunch! To think you would want to harm the entire world's envy, a Mermaid Princess! _Party Music!_ Welcome! It's festival night!"

"Huh? We must have been dreaming until now..."

"Now, shoot those fireworks high into the sky!" Brook yelled.

"Oi! I said aim for the princess, _bokan_!"

"Huh? But today's the wonderful and fun festival, Dosun San... huh?"

"That's all right, I already cut you folks!" Brook chuckled.

"Huh?"

" _Kintothias... Fantasia!_ " _Shink._

"GYYYAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Meanwhile...

"Go, Iron Shell Squad!"

" _Santouryuu... Kokujo Ou Tatsumaki!_ "

"GYYYYYAAAAAHHHH!"

"The iron turtle shells are being cut up like fruit!"

"What was that huge slicing attack? Was it a reaper's scythe or something...?"

"...it's not stopping...! It's a whirlwind of blades!"

"Run away! It'll cut you to ribbons!"

" _When's it going to stop chasing us?_ "

"To the ends of hell...!" Zoro seriously declared.

Somewhere else...

"Raise the bubble's altitude! We're going in from above! Kill Princess Shirahoshi!"

"Our squadron led by Captain Harisenbon... Sea Urchin Spine Squadron! Turn that legs man into a pincushion!"

"BOOOONNNN! There's no escape for you now!"

"Sanji San, it's dangerous!" Aki called. "Why are you just standing over there?"

"Legs man! You're doomed!"

"ARRRRGGGGHHH!"

"Ow! What the...? He's gone!"

" _Sky Walk!_ "

"Cool! Sanji's flying!" Luffy admired.

Robin looked up. "That's...CP9's...!"

"Hey, you idiots!" Sanji bellowed. "If you want to get to Shirahoshi Chan... you have to go through me first!"

"Sanji-chin Sama!" Shirahoshi exclaimed.

"I'm your knight, ma'am~!" Sanji cooed before turning back to the hordes of Fishmen. " _Diable Jambe... Poêle à Frire: Spectre!_ "

Also...

"Holy shit! What the hell's that?"

" _Mille Fleur... Gigantesco Mano!_ "

"Giant _legs_?"

" _Stomp_!"

"Gyah!"

"Pardon me~"

"Hyper Toxin Squadron, go!"

"Yeah!"

"Big arms or big legs, it doesn't matter! One prick of our super poison, and she's dead!"

" _Soldier Dock System: Channel Four! Kurosai FR-U Unit IV!_ "

"That's so awesome!" Luffy literally glittered with awe. "A rhino bike!"

"What'cha say about poison?" Franky drawled, riding aboard the monster vehicle.

"Huh? What the hell is that?"

"Try and prick these, poison pricks! It's a full-metal monster!" He ran them over with it.

"Steel to fight steel!" A giant Fishman wielding a mace ran up. "Leave it to me!"

 _Boom_!

"New number! Channel Five! _Brachio Tank Unit V_ , launch!" Chopper screeched aboard the tank.

"AWESOME! A DINOSAUR!" Both D. brothers yelled together.

"That's amazing!" Brook added.

"This one! Is Commander Chopper!" Chopper saluted. "Sir! Fire!"

"You're so cool, Commander!" Luffy cheered.

" _Fight, you idiots!_ " Zoro screamed.

"Black Rose Flare!" Aki called as the black dragon took out many more Fishmen.

On the sidelines...

" _They're amazing...! They're really amazing...!" "Even a hundred thousand enemies can't stand up to their force of thirteen!"_

" _Strawhat!"_

" _Boss Jimbe!"_

" _Straw Hat...!"_

"They're getting on my nerves..." Hody muttered. "Kraken! Get to that plaza! They have only thirteen guys! Crush them and it'll be over!"

"Crap! He's using the legendary Kraken!"

"No matter how strong Strawhat and his crew are... being crushed by it's gonna hurt!"

"Gyahaha! Fear the creatures of the ocean floor!"

"Yeah! It's the idiot Kraken!"

"He's so strong it's unreal!"

"Oi! What are you waiting for!" Hody demanded of the behemoth. "I brought you all the way from then North Pole as my slave! Work, dammit!"

"Oi, Surume!" Luffy waved to the Kraken. "It's me! Let me on your back! I made you my pet once... that means we're friends!"

"WHAAAAAGGGGHH!"

" _The Kraken betrayed us!"_

"Stop, you idiotic octopus!"

"Good Surume!" Luffy praised loudly.

"Damn, the Kraken that was under the control of Captain Hody... has become completely attached to the Strawhat!"

"Listen up, Surume!" Luffy loudly ordered. "You protect Weak-hoshi over there!"

- _nod, nod, grin_ -

"Please take care of me, Surume Sama!"

"Yosh!" Luffy grinned.

"With that," Ace turned to the upcoming horde of armed Fishmen. "Damn... how long has it been already? _Enjomo!_ "

"Clustering anger brings with it a warrior from a fierce god! Become the path its light shine upon! Synchro Summon! _Howl, Junk Berserker!_ "

"What's that?"

"That's... it's tearing up our troops! It's another one!"

"Gathering fighting souls flash through the heavens! Become the path its light shines upon! _Strike, Lightning Warrior!_ "

"Another one! It's... it's..."

"Starlight Road! _Take flight, Stardust Dragon!_ "

"It's... it's..."

"The white dragon..." whispers echoed about Gyoncorde Plaza. "The white dragon... of salvation..."

"Three monsters?" Aki looked back at the navy-clad mechanic sitting stride the white dragon.

"Eh? What?" Chopper screeched. "Everyone's avoiding us? So you must hold fear for our fleet! We'll use this chance to attack the enemy's leaders! OOOOHHHH! Move forward!"

"Hey Commander Chopper, the vehicle is shaking!"

"Eh?"

"WHHHOOOA! It's a pitfall!"

"Gyahaha! We got you!"

"Kya Kya! Take my special Daruma Fall!" one of them cackled. "I just made everything below here into a bunch of cavities with my teeth!"

"Ow ow ow..."

"Well, then I'll make that other bike idiot fall down..."

"Hey, what's going on, Usopp, Chopper?" Franky fell down. "Damn, it's a pitfall!"

"Whaa? _Is this guy a total moron?_ "

"Hey, you guys okay?" Usopp asked in concern.

"Ow..." Chopper moaned.

"Bastard! I super won;t forgive you!" Franky swore. "You guys get outta here!"

"What?" "Kyaaa!" "Why?" He flung all of them out.

"Hey! What are you doing, Franky?" Nami called.

"Why'd you throw the tank commander out?" Chopper hollered.

"That's because this one's a one-person vehicle! I'm gonna _transform!_ "

"You're already a pervert!" Usopp retorted.

" _Kurosai FR-U Unit IV, standby! Brachio head, change! Brachio Tank Unit V! Kurosai FR-U Unit IV! Docking!_ "

"What! Docking~!"

" _Iron Pirate: Franky Shogun!_ "

"THERE IT IS!"

"Genius Vegapunk! I realised your former dream! Through the adoption of the shape memory alloy Wapometal!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"

"AWESOME~!"

"The combined robot of our dreams!" Usopp cried with Chopper.

"The Marauder's Sword!" Franky brought out a huge blade. " _Franken: General Ashimoto Dangerous!_ "

"Huh, it's a low attack!"

"What's dangerous is how cheap this is!"

"You flew up, but, the cannons that come out of my shoulders will take you down!"

"What? A cannon from his shoulders?" Luffy echoed in awe.

" _Franky Cannon!_ "

" _That's just you shooting!_ " Usopp squawked. "But you're really cool too, man!"

"Damn!"

"What a tricky guy!"

" _General Weight!_ "

"So heavy!"

"-.-..." Nami sighed.

"Looks like there's some weak-looking ones here too..."

Nami dodged the sword from behind. "That's right, I'm just a bit scared! Don't look down on Weatheria's weather science! _Sorcery Clima-Tact! Gust Sword!_ "

"Crap, now I'm outside!" Usopp muttered as he scrambled to grab his weapons. "But, I won't hesitate, I'm not who I used to be any more! _Midori Boshi: Bamboo Javelin!_ "

"GYYYYAAAAAHHH!"

"Heracles Sensei! The two years where I risked my life in the Brigand Forest where I couldn't relax for a second! I haven't forgotten it! It starts now! Chapter two of 'The Man Usopp's Great Adventures'!"

" _All of them! They fight so vigorously... as if they wanted to fight so much they couldn't help themselves!"_

"Kyaaa!" An explosion sounded.

"Daruma San was blown away!"

"Who did this!"

"It was me!" Chopper yelled as he leapt out. "Horn Point! I'm also good at digging underground!"

"Chopper!" Luffy called. "How did you learn to turn into a stag beetle?"

"I'm not a stag beetle!" Chopper retorted. "In these two years I completely renewed and reinforced the transformation points! I only need the Rumble Ball for one transformation now! I'm able to freely change into the other six forms whenever I want!"

"You self-conceited coral bastard, kya!" Daruma yelled. "I'll rip you to shreds!"

"They aren't coral, they're horns!" Chopper grinned. "Also, I'm a self-conceited 'monster'!"

"How many have been taken down?"

" _Zero-! Waah!"_

"Lightning Strike!" one of the warriors cut through a whole horde.

"Yosh," Yusei landed lightly. "Now... Stardust Xiaolong comes to the field, and then... I summon Effect Veiler. Clustering wishes will call out a new speed's horizon! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! _The power of hope, Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron!_ "

"New monster!" Luffy cheered as the muscled race-car tuner appeared on the field.

"Draw!" Yusei looked at the card stoically. "This wish... this desperate wish... _Clustering crystal dreams open the door to a new evolution! Become the path its light shines upon! Accel Synchro!_ "

"Accel Synchro?" Luffy echoed in awe.

" _Be Born, Shooting Star Dragon!_ "

" _Another white dragon came out!"_

" _It's beautiful!_ "

"Four tuners! Okay!" Yusei called. "Stardust Mirage!"

"That's four squads," Aki noted. "Ivy Shackles! Rose Tentacles, Thorn Whip Storm!"

"Kraken!" Hody was yelling. "Good job capturing Shirahoshi! Keep squeezing her like that."

…!

"Your brothers, living peacefully at the North Pole..." Hody leered. "Knowing their location, we can go and kill them off any time. You're a legendary race, even if you're dead, you'll still sell for a high price! If that's what you want, e sure to keep betraying us like that! Don't get swept away by human sentiment, monster!"

!

"What... he kept him under control by threatening his brothers..." Jimbe growled.

Further away, an inferno swept the battle as hordes of Fishmen came away burnt.

"Whaa? Ugh, Surume Sama, that hurts!"

…!

"Surume!" Luffy called.

…!

"You obeyed him because you wanted to protect your brothers?"

!

"You'd want to protect them, yeah..." Ace grinned up. "So, your little brother? Or is it your elder brother?"

…?

"Shishishi!" Luffy grinned. "Let us protect therm too! Right, Ace?"

?

"Strawhat's coming," Hody noted after a long silence.

"Take him down!"

"You're wasted on this, Dogon!"

"Leave it to us! That guy, saying unlucky stuff like Surume Surume all the time!"

"Strawhat!"

"We won't let you reach the captain!"

Zoro, Sanji and Ace all blew them away.

"He's coming?" Hody realised. "Strawhat!"

"Stop Strawhat!"

"Huh? He's gone!"

Luffy appeared, kicking Hody at the jaw and sending the Fishman reeling back.

"He seems pumped up!"

Meanwhile, above Gyoncorde Plaza...

"That's the 'Ship of Promise'! Noah!"

"What's wrong, Father? This is certainly an abnormal situation, but..."

"It's just a wreckage from old history! It's not necessary... to get so agitated over it..."

"No! You can't do anything with that ship! Until 'the day that must come'! You absolutely can't move the ship!"

* * *

On the more immediate situation in Gyoncorde Plaza...

"Captain Hody!"

"Even after swallowing all those Energy Steroids and becoming a monster!"

"No wait! Look! His body has become really tough!"

" _Rroarr_!"

"This guy's built like a tank!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Do you know what Fishman Karate is?" Hody bellowed at the Straw Hat captain, palm out, panting.

Luffy had yet to answer when his head was sent flying back.

"His head flew off!"

"He got him in one blow..."

"That's not gonna work on me," Luffy cheerfully answered, his head still attached to his neck. "'Cause I'm made of rubber!"

"?"

" _Head Armament!_ " Luffy began as the head began to snap back. " _Gomu Gomu no...!_ "

"Iron Shell Division!" Hody barked.

"Yes sir!"

"Dumbass! Smash your head open on these!"

" _Kane!"_

_Bang._

"The iron lost to his head-!"

"Of course," Ace scoffed. "He's always been hard-headed..."

"I heard that!" Luffy retorted at Ace as he blocked Hody's foot, and answered with a Haki- enhanced foot at Hody.

" _Yabusame_!"

"They're not hitting at all!"

"Does he know where they're all going to fly?"

"Captain Hody!" the rest of them called as Hody was sent flying into the plaza wall with Luffy's fist to the solar plexus.

"You're amazing, Strawhat Luffy!"

"So this is... the true strength of these world-famous pirates!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, on a different note, I'm waiting for the One Piece canon to finish the Punk Hazard Arc first. Therefore, I will be starting a filler fan-made arc, with more 5Ds characters that will take place after Punk Hazard, but I don't want to put it here, because otherwise it'll seem too obvious. Hence, to all readers, keep your eyes peeled for Huge Revolution: Black Whirlwind! Let's rev it up! I'm going to be the Pirate King!


	11. X: Aegis of the Ocean Dragon Lord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously:
> 
> "The iron lost to his head-!"
> 
> "Of course," Ace scoffed. "He's always been hard-headed..."
> 
> "I heard that!" Luffy retorted at Ace as he blocked Hody's foot, and answered with a Haki- enhanced foot at Hody.
> 
> "Yabusame!"
> 
> "They're not hitting at all!"
> 
> "Does he know where they're all going to fly?"
> 
> "Captain Hody!" the rest of them called as Hody was sent flying into the plaza wall with Luffy's fist to the solar plexus.
> 
> "You're amazing, Strawhat Luffy!"
> 
> "So this is... the true strength of these world-famous pirates!"

Barely half an hour into battle, and Yusei was reconsidering the merits of actually charging into battle as opposed to staying with the Sunny. His pacifism would give way to the former under duress, like helping a friend, and his pride would never allow him to consider the latter. Still, there was a whole lot of difference between charging into Marineford and in Gyoncorde Plaza.

For one thing, Yusei had never faced the threat of a giant ark overhead threatening to fall onto the island and crush the whole populace congregated around Gyoncorde Plaza.

" _The Fishman District's Noah?_ " people were screaming.

Oh, wait, there was the giant battleship that fell from the iceberg.

" _It's heading straight for the plaza!_ "

" _Why is Noah floating above Fishman Island?_ "

" _It's gonna burst through the bubble!_ "

" _If the bubble breaks...! The neighbourhoods in front of Noah are going to be blasted away by the water pressure!_ "

"How does that ship even move...?" Yusei considered as he noted the floating ship overhead.

"I have no idea what's going on, but we're doomed!" Usopp wailed.

"If all of us were smashed at once, the ocean would probably be dyed red," Robin was commenting.

An altogether eerie if inaccurate statement, and not one Yusei was keen on.

" _Everyone evacuate! Evacuate the island, get to the ocean!_ "

"Ahh! That's..." Shirahoshi stated.

"AHHHHH! _Something's falling!_ "

Comparing Shooting Star with the falling entity, Yusei judged the entity to be about the same size.

"Ouchie! My foot slipped!" the giant that landed in the plaza whined.

"It's you! Decken's subordinate, Wadatsumi!"

"Captain Vander Decken! I fell down went boom! Stop the ship please~! I don't wanna die, waaa!"

"Decken?"

"That guy is really one tough bastard!" Luffy was commenting as Hody struggled far away from Yusei. "I even struck him with a Busoshoku attack!"

"Decken, you crazy-ass pirate!" Hody hollered at the ark. "This wasn't anywhere in our plan!"

Decken's laughter echoed down from the ark, possibly due to a loudspeaker DenDen Mushi. "Wadatsumi, saving you is impossible now! With my ability, anything I throw will keep flying, crashing through anything it has to until it reaches its target! You'll be our sacrifice! Along with all of Fishman Island, you will die so that we can kill Shirahoshi!"

_Fact: Clearly, Shirahoshi was the target, though the ark was rather excessive as a projectile weapon._

_Deduction: The ark was being controlled by Decken to hit Shirahoshi, Fishman Island being only collateral damage._

_Secondary deduction: Decken clearly at loss of faculties or clear apathy._

_Solution: Disrupt projectile, or move target. Former discarded due to size and the nature of Decken's power. Latter solution adopted._

"Shirahoshi Hime, take the Bubbly Coral and fly!" Yusei hollered to the princess as he ran towards the Shooting Star Dragon currently fighting against a horde of terrified Fishmen, dissolving the other monsters he controlled. "You're the target!"

"B- But!"

"I'll be with you!" Yusei bellowed over the din of the plaza. "Make sure you catch his attention! Go! You're the only one who can protect this island now!"

The words galvanised her into action as the giant mermaid took to the pseudo-skies of the island. "If you're looking for me, I'm over here!"

Decken reacted upon finding her gone, to see her. "OOH! My beloved~!"

"Mermaid Princess!" Brook's call could be heard even as Yusei floated up.

"Shirahoshi, why are you over there?' Nami's yells were next.

"Your target is my life, isn't it?" Shirahoshi yelled, panting. "Then just take my life alone! Don't involve all the people of the Ryugu Kingdom in this! Please, stop this!"

"You plan to take this disaster with your own body so that you can protect your kingdom, Shirahoshi?" Decken bellowed. "Oh, your beauty knows no bounds! Even your heart! _Die in this beautiful moment of your and live on forever in my heart, Shirahoshi!_ "

"Shield Wing, get Luffy San!" Yusei instructed the bird he conjured as the evolved Stardust Dragon spread its wings to block the knife, the blade instead catching its controller. "Hime, move! Away from the island into the ocean! Now!"

"Y- Yes, Yusei-sama!" Shirahoshi began to fly through.

"That Weak-hoshi!" Luffy was grinning despite his grumbles as he rode the bird up to beside Yusei. "I told her to stay close!"

"Sorry, Luffy San! I told her to move!" Yusei answered, pulling a pink coral out of his pocket. "Luffy San, do you trust me?"

"Of course," Luffy produced his own Bubbly Coral from a pocket. "Jimbe said that Decken's a Devil Fruit user, so there must be some air inside that boat if he's able to move around. We gotta hurry, since it's in the ocean and Hody's a Fishman."

"Ten thousand metres undersea," Yusei breathed, calculating the odds. "Luffy San, at this depth you might survive being crushed, but I am coming as well to divert the boat if needed. We have to act fast. You can see Hody climbing the chains of Noah at the moment, right?"

"Ah, right!" Luffy glanced down. "This monster is so cool, Yusei!"

"Enjoy it while you can, because you're climbing the chains with him," Yusei dead-panned. "I'm following on Stardust. Find Decken, you absolutely cannot knock him out until this boat is away from the island, and I trust you to handle Hody."

"Meanie," Luffy muttered but acquiesced as he leapt onto a nearby thick chain suspended in between the bubble and began climbing through to the bubble surrounding the island.

"What are they...?" Yusei glanced down at the well-meaning merpeople civilians trying to hold down the heavy chains as he moved to Shield Wing. "That's..."

"Hey, stop it!" Luffy's bellow went unheard as Hody flung down a hail of water bullets at them.

"Shooting Star activate, Martyr's Sanctuary!" Yusei ordered, the white dragon dissolving in a burst of light. Stardust clashed with water bullets in a split second, the merpeople quickly scattering from both as Hody glared up at the impassive mechanic seated on the back of the bird.

"Ryugu Palace..." Yusei murmured in cold observation of the princess's path, gripping the Bubbly Coral. "We need... a good bubble... connecting corridor... Water Road... ah. Shield Wing."

The faithful monster needed no further direction as it plunged into the watery, monster and man enveloped in a bubble as they passed through.

"Please let Luffy San be all right..." Yusei murmured as the Winged Beast flew-swam through to Shirahoshi.

"I'll give you one last chance, Shirahoshi!" Decken's yells could somehow be heard through the water. "If you just say yes right now, I'll save you! Marry me~! Shirahoshi!"

"But, you're not my type!" Shirahoshi screamed as she dodged the knives flung at her. Or rather... the knives were deflected away.

"You won't lay a single finger on our sister, Decken!"

"Do you think we would approve of you marrying her, Decken?"

"Manboshi Nii Sama, Ryuboshi Nii Sama, Hoe Sama!" Shirahoshi screamed.

"Nii Sama?" Decken screamed.

" _Who are you calling Nii Sama?_ "

"Yusei-sama!" Shirahoshi sniffed. "Nii Sama!"

"Save the crying for later!" Yusei answered quickly, making sure the message was clear. "If you don't act quickly... I'm going to be angry!"

It was a juvenile and fake threat, and not one of his better moments, but Yusei was currently running on pure adrenaline and his nerves was fraying as well as that a bubble was the only thing between life and death by water pressure. It worked; the mermaid princess was quickly stunned into silence.

"So, we've got to get it somewhere on the ocean floor where it won't be scratched... Shirahoshi?" Ryuboshi turned to see Shirahoshi silent.

"I'm sorry, Yusei-sama..." Shirahoshi murmured, her voice on the edge of trembling but not crying. "I'll cry later, please don't be angry, Yusei-sama..."

"Look out!" Yusei called. Shield Wing poked the princess on command, getting her to dodge a wave of rocks knocked loose from impact with Noah. "Prince Ryuboshi, Prince Manboshi, take care of Decken! Shirahoshi Hime, continue to move away! The Fishman Island is in danger! If you want to protect this place... I'll help you, you won't do it alone! But you have to listen! Okay?"

There was no more time as the giant ark began to tether.

"Okay, Decken's ability is to hit a target no matter what, deflected only by other people in a split second... direct attack?" Cards were plating in his vision, the moves and possibilities unfolding on the board. "No, other things he throws does the same thing... perhaps a combination of direct attack and allowing other to attack directly... if the ship is also a monster... something in defence mode cannot attack."

The ark began to fall, back towards the island and Hody's face was imminent as he went after Shirahoshi, perhaps neglecting him as well. The bubble was getting smaller after all...

 _Please..._ the voice pleaded, an echo in the dark shadows of the waters. _Just a bit more..._

"Permanent trap, Ultimate Offering," Yusei whispered as Luffy attacked Hody with some snake-like hand and... oh, Luffy San was riding on the back of Prince Fukaboshi. "So tired, shouldn't have pulled so many monsters..."

_Just a bit more... a little further..._

"I can only activate this during main phase, or the opponent's battle phase," Yusei breathed, the bubble already shrinking from his quick breathing. "Paying, five hundred life points to normal summon once more..."

_A little further..._

"No, I will protect everything!" Luffy had declared to a cackling Hody. "I spent those two years for that reason!"

"I summon..." his fingers held the glowing card as he himself collapsed on the crying Shield Wing.

_Thank you..._

* * *

The flash went too quickly to be seen.

Either in the deep ocean, or in the crowded noisy Gyoncorde Plaza, the ring of light went unseen as it washed over Noah, freezing it there as the figure held it back. The lone lithe figure wore her floating scarves like the rest of the royal family, yet, unabashedly, she was no longer one of them.

By the rules of the game, the ship no longer fell. It would be a while before everyone distracted by their own fight, realised that Noah was no longer falling.

When those in Gyoncorde Plaza would look up to see what the ship was doing now instead of a collision course headed for Fishman Island, they would see the ship, and perhaps the dying spark of the figure that once held it in place temporarily to buy time. When those fighting in the ocean floor finally noticed the Noah was no longer moving, the mysterious figure would have long faded. When the Straw Hats finally defeated their opponents, and realised that their captain and handyman were not on the island, occupied as they were with Wadatsumi and the rest of the New Fishman Pirates, they would never see the monster found in the tomb of a dead queen that held back the giant ship Noah until the holder of its card gave out and it faded into the world of the spirits again.

The Straw Hats would be celebrated, and the unsung heroine never noticed, faded as a pleasant memory or the grey shades of history. Such was the way of the world.

* * *

"Heal Waver."

Decken blinked up, blearily hanging onto the easing threads of his consciousness as he glared at the man holding his stomach closed and the beeping machine that was giving out soothing waves beside a huge green bird.

"Don't move," the blue-eyed man instructed, still trying to tie the wound closed with , Decken noted, the soggy, salty wet remains of what looked like a navy jacket. "If you don't want to bleed to death, that is."

"Y- You... the man with Shirahoshi the first time..." Decken vaguely recognised. "Why? I... I tried to kill you, I tried to kill Shirahoshi, I tried to kill your captain... I think..."

"I don't need to be your ally to save you," the man answered. "But... I'm a bit confused. Ten years ago... Shirahoshi would be six years old. Why did you want to propose marriage to a child?"

Decken chuckled. "It's a legend passed down from only my family... I think... "

"The Mermaid Princess?" the man's light tone caught the Fishman off-guard. "Ah, Jimbe San told us. A mermaid with an ability to speak to the Sea Kings..."

"I was _wrong_?" the sudden movement prompted a coughing fit and more blood to stain the jacket. "Ah... it was a dream of my ancestors to find and control the mermaid princess, for all the world's riches... that, and I like big women..."

"The dream of your ancestors isn't your dream, right?" the man's voice cut in. "So, you turned yourself into a criminal and a paedophile for a dream that is not your own."

Decken coughed, frowning. "You're not a very good bedside sitter, human. The only reason I'm not cutting you is because I'm lying at death's door."

"We're not at a bedside, we're holding your guts closed as the ship heads towards Hody," the man retorted. "Isn't a dream something you decide to pursue yourself, not something passed down? All the world's riches..."

"It's not a good dream?" Decken hollered. "I've sacrificed my time, my right hand and my pirate career to chase this legend... it was true, and out of my reach... once the Ryugu Palace catch me, I'm dead or in prison... what more? Isn't it a worthy dream?"

The man beside the whirring machine was frowning, he could tell. "That giant in the plaza... Wadatsumi, was his name, right? He seems like a devoted subordinate."

"Ah..." Decken sighed. "Together for ten years already... hey, why am I pouring my life story out to you? You know what, I'm not going to say any more. I've been refused in love, in life and now I'm going to be rotting in a jail cell. Leave me alone."

The man gave him a pitying gaze, and Decken realised that he never realised the man's name despite having fought him.

"Who are you, human?"

"Fudo Yusei."

The name struck a chord in his memory, somewhere deep inside. "Sounds familiar... where have I heard that name?"

"Marineford, two years ago." the words were spoken with some sort of resignation.

Decken blinked blearily again. "Fudo Yusei... Shooting Star... maybe I chose the wrong target, huh? I'm gonna die, and this ship will fall on Fishman Island, and then..."

"Do what you want," Fudo Yusei stood up, letting go of the clotted wounds. "I just think, it'll be very sad for Wadatsumi to lose his captain."

"Oi, you're just going to leave me on a collision course to Fishman Island after saving me?" Decken glared at him. "I'm gonna kill you-"

"I think watching the fight would be a better way to pass the time," Yusei answered. "Do you want to watch Hody getting beaten up by Luffy San?"

"Shitty human, I'm gonna lie here and bleed to death, I think..." Decken growled. "Then you'll crash down as well... hey."

"Yes?"

"You're called a shooting star... why?" Decken grudgingly gave in to curiosity.

"Maybe because Luffy San wished to have his brother back at Marineford, and I made that possible against a hundred thousand Marines," the reply was swift and practical despite the stunning content.

"A miracle-bringer..." Decken breathed as the human exited.

"Aboard the Noah,  
a worthless life saved by him,  
named a shooting star.  
A haiku by Vander Decken IX."

Decken then blinked. "The ship's not moving... he stopped it... another legend born in the Decken family, I think..."

"Decken Sama!" Shirahoshi's piercing scream rent through the water. "If you're alive, then please make it come after me! Please, just let Fishman Island survive!"

_Do what you want, I just think, it'll be very sad for Wadatsumi to lose his captain..._

The right hand gloved for ten years flopped as Decken directed it. "Not that I've allied with humans... I just don't want to owe you, Shooting Star..."

Yusei was on the deck, trying to lip-read as the difference in the sound of speed made it impossible to decipher what was being said, as the deck trembled under the supernatural influence of the _Mato Mato no Mi_. Everyone stared as Noah began to turn, albeit slowly, away from Fishman Island, and more than one jaw dropped open to admit water.

"That guy... why is Decken moving the ship towards Shirahoshi again?" Fukaboshi commented.

"Not towards Shirahoshi... to Hody!" Ryuboshi interjected in some fascinated horror.

"That's... Yusei!" Luffy pointed, laughing as someone waved on the deck of Noah. "Yusei! Oi, Nii Chan, get me to Noah! Yusei did it!"

"What do you hope to achieve by that?" Hody roared in frustration and hatred as he swam. "A human and a mermaid princess...!"

The ship shuddered to a halt in mid-air.

"Seems I've reached my limit," Decken's voice drawled as Yusei turned to the injured Fishman. "'Night."

"Ah." Yusei answered him, quickly calculating the odds as Noah began to fall again. "I'll make sure you live."

"If... I don't make it..." Decken coughed, foaming at the mouth. "Tell Wadatsumi... thanks."

"Tell him yourself," Yusei answered, pulling out his cards. "What is your wish?"

"My... wish?" Decken grinned. "That's something you can't grant, Fudo Yusei..."

Yusei nodded as the Fishman fell asleep, Noah shuddering around him. "Well, now that we're still doomed... let's rev it up."

* * *

"Hody is... a monster brought forth by our environment!" Fukaboshi was yelling. "The New Fishman Pirates are created by an all-consuming grudge. They fear that the grudge of their forefathers will be forgotten. They fear the day that the anger towards humans calms! They live fast and die young! They wish for humans to be bad to justify their crusade! These men who want blood don't wish for peace for Fishmen! Their grudge lacks experience and will! They have no substance... a completely empty shell!"

"Empty hatred...?" Yusei considered, still gripping onto the deck for dear life despite his bleeding fingers. The trap card was stained with blood, the figure grinning seemingly at him beside the other card, the card retrieved from the grave as regretful wish...

"Their hatred lacks experience, and it lacks determination!" Fukaboshi's voice could be heard clearly on the ark. "They're just empty opponents without any substance at all! The forgotten Fishman District we've all but lost contact with... It is the dark emotions of Fishman Island we've cast off! We've allowed this ditch of lawlessness to just keep piling up... as we pretended not to see this warped grudge! We just focused on what was right in front of us... we were worrying about progress!"

Despite the crackling of the DenDen Mushi, the message was received loud and clear. "It's already too late for them! That's what Mother feared the most! We must first... fight within ourselves! Mother was killed by Fishman Island's grudge! That person might have noticed it...! However, somewhere in my heart I was taken in by my hatred for humans! The regrets of the dead belong to the dead alone! Grudge is an illusion that the living create and feed on their own! And the grudge of the Fishman District has been fed by their hatred towards humanity! By the time we had noticed it, it had grown into such a giant force that we could not contain it! If we don't do something now, Fishman Island will be destroyed by its own hatred! _Strawhat... please! We don't need the past! Bring everything back to zero! There are old ghosts that have survived in the shadows of this island... please extinguish them! By your hand, bring Fishman Island... back to zero!_ "

Noah crashed against a pile of roc, and Yusei was unable to hear anything but the later half of Luffy's answer: "Leave everything to us, Bro-hoshi! We're friends, after all!"

"Luffy San!" Yusei tapped on the deck, before frustratingly deciding that Luffy could not hear him anyway and that Hody was the bigger threat. His own bubble popped as the giant bubble shot from Fishman Island enveloped Noah and Luffy got onboard at the same time.

"Yusei! I'm leaving the boat to you!" Luffy bellowed as he blew up his arm into Gear Third. "Stop the boat at all costs! I'll take Hody, so get to work!"

"Got it!" Yusei answered as the arm hardened before his eyes. "Argh... we're going to have to deploy you again."

" _Gomu Gomu no... Elephant Gun!_ " Luffy roared as he took down Hody with a single blow.

Red blood dotted the deck as the card's edges bit hard. "This compensation of blood... I will offer it."

" _The captain of the New Fishman Pirates, Hody, was also just... defeated by Luffy San!"_

"Congratulations!" Aki clapped as the remaining fighters finished off the officers of the New Fishmen Pirates.

"What the hell were you doing, Aki...?" Usopp trailed off once he noticed the blood and the scuff marks and the various needles carrying catgut in her hands. "Never mind."

"Laser beam!" Ace stared in fascination at Franky.

"What were _you_ doing?" Nami screamed at him.

"Ohm, I thought you didn't want people to escape the plaza..." Ace pointed to a heap of slightly charred bodies.

"...never mind."

"Oi, Yusei!" Aboard Noah, Luffy grinned despite his bleeding wounds. "Yusei, we did it..." The smile dropped. "Yusei?"

Black eyes widened as the mechanic collapsed to the ground, gloves stained red-brown with his own blood as red dots coloured his skin and the deck. "Yusei... you're joking... right... Yusei, there's so much blood... Yusei!"

"If only... the ship would please move somewhere else..." Yusei muttered.

"I'll break the ship apart! Just, stop bleeding!" Luffy wailed as the Elephant Gun set to work destroying the upper part of Noah. "Yusei! Enough! If you continue...!"

"You look horrible, Luffy San," the mechanic blearily pointed out as the whirring machine approached them. "Heal Waver..."

"Save it for yourself!" Luffy roared back as the Elephant Gun Gatling continued. "Yusei... I'll save the island! Enough already! As your captain I command you to stand down! Leave it to me!"

"Luffy-sama! Stop already!" Shirahoshi blocked the next set of fists.

"Step aside Weak-hoshi!" Luffy bellowed. "If I don't destroy it, the island will...! Yusei's work...!"

"It's enough already!" Shirahoshi screamed.

"There's no way it's okay! Everyone is still on the island, you know!"

"Noah's already stopped...!" Shirahoshi declared.

Luffy stopped, panting from the effort as he stared at the Sea Kings with chains in their mouths holding the ark. "The Sea Kings! Why...?"

"Waah, Luffy-sama got mad at me..." the princess sniffed.

"Oi, this is no time to be worrying about that!" Luffy yelled back, calming down at last. "I don't really understand either, but... Noah has stopped..."

More thuds, that of rubber flesh hitting wood. "Luffy-sama! Your wounds are getting bigger... you're covered in blood...!"

"Haa, haa... ah well, it's fine... as long as the ship is stopped... everyone's okay... Yusei!"

"Yusei-sama! Blood... you're bleeding!" Shirahoshi turned to glance at the giant Sea Kings. "Yusei-sama, the Sea Kings Sama say that you have to let go for them to move it..."

"Shirahoshi Hime, before I let go..." Yusei croaked, the cards bloodstained in his hands and faintly glowing. "She says... that you're a good girl... and sorry that... you couldn't touch pinkies again."

"Eh? Still...!" Shirahoshi debated for a moment before going after Luffy. "AH! Luffy-sama! I'll come back for you in an instant, Yusei-sama!"

"Ah, crud," Yusei muttered at the bubble wobbling as he landed against it. A bit more, and his life would really be in danger...

_Crack._

"This ship... is really not worth it." was his last comment before ten thousand metres of water pressure crashed in and the bubble burst with him falling from the sky.

" _YUSEI_!" the roar of the captain echoed through the whole island as a rubber arm flew through the air like against hell itself as it hooked to a single gloved hand and latched on. "Come on! Weak-hoshi, hold Yusei as well!"

"Yusei-sama is bleeding even more!" Shirahoshi screamed as another bloodstained lump was dumped in her hands and several cracks sounded. In her hands, Yusei moaned in pain. "Please help them!" Shirahoshi began crying as she floated down to the plaza. "I can't stop the bleeding! They pushed themselves this far because of us!"

Aki, who had taken over medical duty due to Chopper's current inability to move, quickly came over. "Get the tourniquet from Chopper's backpack! Nami, syringe!" She quickly checked him over. "No good, he's losing too much blood. Does anyone have his blood type?"

"Does anyone have F type blood?" Chopper began to yell despite his incapacitation.

"No one has F type except for Luffy," Sanji replied.

"Anybody!" Chopper screamed. "Ah! I forgot this country has a law, they're not allowed to give blood to humans!"

"Eh? They have a law like that? That's terrible!" Nami exclaimed. "Yusei... Yusei's bleeding as well! And he's bleeding enough to soak the floor!"

"Ace, the card!" Aki ordered, trying to pry apart the gloved fingers. "Let, go...!"

"Monster, Otohime," Ace grumbled as he prised one bloodstained card out. "Next... Compensation of Blood? Yusei, you martyr-complex idiot, what are you thinking?"

"M- My blood type is different, but it's still red! Will that work?" Shirahoshi cried.

"Er, well, we appreciate the thought!" Chopper, held up by Robin, answered. "That's right! There are human pirates here!"

"My blood is F type, use it! Take as much as you need!" Jimbe offered. "But, I don't think all the blood in my body can save Yusei Kun..."

"Jimbe!" Ace gave a relieved grin, his nails reduced to cuticles from Luffy's near-death state.

"Boss Jimbe!"

"But the law...!"

"I'm a pirate," Jimbe snorted.

" _Boss_!" These cries were that of admiration as Aki drew the blood and hooked up the transfusion between rubber-man and Fishman.

"Oi, Aki, the funny cards did him in!" Ace bellowed, seated over the prone form of the mechanic now that Luffy was cared for. "Compensation of Blood!"

"Compensation of... _what_?" Aki half-screamed. "Crap! We need O Rh minus! Now!"

"That's a rare blood type!" Chopper exclaimed. "It's the universal donor blood type, but... we need another person with O Rh minus!"

"We'd donate if we have it, but... no one has any O Rh minus!" the Fishmen civilians babbled amongst the crowd.

"The Signer... the legendary man..." Madame Shyarly murmured. "He must live by any costs..."

"I have O Rh minus," the stoic merman crown prince floated forward, solemnly offering his forearm. "Mother..." Fukaboshi smiled slightly under the bruises and scuffs and cuts. "This is... 'zero'."

"Jimbe..." Luffy murmured, blearily recovering.

"Luffy-sama!" Shirahoshi covered her mouth in happiness. "You're awake!

"Luffy!" the Straw Hats still conscious cheered.

"Oh? So you've come to..." Jimbe rumbled.

"Luffy!" Ace grinned. "Jimbe!"

"Hey, Jimbe..." Luffy grinned. "Be my _nakama_!"

Far above, a celestial maiden of legend smiled as bright as the stars' final death as she faded into the shadows of the ghosts finally leaving.

_In spite of this pain, and the pain that draws this crimson flowing blood... there are these unspoken words, that no matter how narrow or tight, just like those tubes... the blood of fearsome prejudice... will be cleaned away by the blood of battle... just like from a painted dream... Surely, you can see it too... the road onwards towards the sun._


	12. XI: Otohime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously:
> 
> "Gomu Gomu no... Elephant Gun!" Luffy roared as he took down Hody with a single blow.
> 
> Red blood dotted the deck as the card's edges bit hard. "This compensation of blood... I will offer it."
> 
> "The captain of the New Fishman Pirates, Hody, was also just... defeated by Luffy San!"
> 
> "Congratulations!" Aki clapped as the remaining fighters finished off the officers of the New Fishmen Pirates.
> 
> "Hey, Jimbe..." Luffy grinned. "Be my nakama!"
> 
> Far above, a celestial maiden of legend smiled as bright as the stars' final death as she faded into the shadows of the ghosts finally leaving.
> 
> In spite of this pain, and the pain that draws this crimson flowing blood... there are these unspoken words, that no matter how narrow or tight, just like those tubes... the blood of fearsome prejudice... will be cleaned away by the blood of battle... just like from a painted dream... Surely, you can see it too... the road onwards towards the sun.

"Heroes are people you hand out your booze to! I wanna drink booze!" Zoro's voice was the first thing he heard upon opening his eyes to the blue 'skies' of Fishman Island.

"Why the hell's your reasoning like that!" Nami screamed as Zoro before she realised that a pair of blue eyes were open. "Yusei, you're awake!"

"Why'd you refuse, Jimbe!" Luffy's voice drifted in, whining. "Let's go on an adventure together!"

"That's right! Join our crew, Boss!" Usopp yelled.

"It'll be reassuring to have a former Shichibukai with us! And Luffy and Yusei needs rest," Chopper added at the last minute.

"I'm telling you, I can't right now!" Jimbe rumbled. "I'm honestly happy that you invited me. It'll surely be fun travelling the seas with you, but I have things I must do! There's my current position... I've only just moved away from that. A man must do his duty in life. When I've done what I must, I promise that I'll come to meet you all. If, at that time, you still want me to come, then please invite me again... to the Straw Hats!"

"Always the same, Jimbe..." Ace drawled. "Duty before self."

"That's for sure!" Luffy declared.

"You're quite liked already," Robin smiled.

"Oi oi, a man shouldn't drive people into a corner talking about duty," Sanji muttered. Zoro merely cracked a smirk as Brook laughed and Nami smiled.

"A man Luffy admires... everyone's waiting for you, Jimbe!" Franky grinned.

"Yes... thank you," the old Fishman murmured.

"Yusei! You're awake!" Chopper screamed.

There was a minor scuffle, and the mechanic soon realised that the captain and the reindeer doctor had been trying to tackle him into a hug.

"Oh, you're awake," Jimbe rumbled. "Can you tell that pet of yours to go already? We stand out too much."

"Pet?" Yusei echoed, confused as he looked towards where Jimbe was pointing.

Above Fishman Island, everyone stopped to look up towards the false blue skies, the white dragon of hope shooting across the expanse along the Thousand Sunny and scattering stardust in its wake.

"Shooting Star Dragon..." Yusei murmured.

"Yeah, the cool dragon!" Luffy whooped. "Can we keep it?"

"No!" Most of the crew yelled.

"Yusei, dismiss it," Aki sighed, curled up next to the main mast.

"Shooting Star... thank you for today," Yusei directed a half-smile to the creature. A bellow shook across the island as it spread its mighty wings, and faded, leaving behind only air, stardust, and hope.

"So, what do we do?" Zoro broke the ensuing silence of awe. "We're going to the New World like this?"

"E- Eh? Are you leaving the island already?" Shirahoshi nervously spoke up. "I want to properly thank you and talk with you more!"

Sanji was the happiest man at that. "Okay! Let's stay at the Mermaid Café for a week!"

"You just want to go there!" Usopp slapped him. "But I agree!"

"The two of you, you need rest," Chopper and Aki sternly glared at the captain and the mechanic. "Luffy, you lost about two pints of blood. Yusei, you were bleeding through your fingers! What did you do?"

"I'll enforce it," Aki warned, tentacles seemingly sprouting out behind her. "Yusei, even you too."

"Eh..." Luffy sighed. "Don't wanna... want meat..."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Straw Hats!" everyone onboard looked towards the guard shouting. "King Neptune, we've caught up to the ship!"

"I see," the king's voice boomed from a DenDen Mushi. "Luffy Kun! We still owe you a feast!"

"Feast!" the captain immediately perked up. "Okay! Let's call Hachi and Keimi too!"

* * *

The banquet was more of a party, complete with soprano, jazz and a cabaret of mermaid dancers, the last which sent Sanji into a tizz to imitate a statue once more. Despite the numerous severely injured people present, there was no dampening the mood as Ryugu Kingdom sought to reward its heroes with food wine and song, the idiom somewhat edited due to the rather asexual nature of the captain.

"Oi, you're all here too?" Luffy grinned.

"Zzz..." it was a wonder how the swordsman could fall asleep in the middle of the noisy party.

"I drank too much, I'm taking a break," Nami called.

"I'm taking a break from eating," Usopp sighed in satisfaction.

"My ears are jarring," Yusei and Aki answered simultaneously, before starting and looking away.

"Sanji's taking a break from mermaids," Chopper relayed.

"Mermaid Island's the best~!" said cook crooned.

"Eh, so you're all here," Jimbe said as he strolled up to them. "Have you kept up with the news?"

"Yeah," Ace sighed. "Punk Hazard, right? Where Akainu and Aokiji fought?"

"What? Akainu and Aokiji had a big fight?" Luffy started, still with his mouth full.

"So you didn't know... Rayleigh's pretty strict..." Jimbe muttered.

"I can't believe you didn't even hear of such a big incident!" Nami exclaimed.

"I know about that! I know!" Chopper jumped.

"Right after the war two years ago, Fleet Admiral Sengoku quit, and nominated Aokiji, his trusted subordinate, as his replacement," Jimbe explained. "But, in the upper echelons of government, support for Akainu was strong despite the revelation of the Marineford War. Aokiji doesn't show much willpower normally, but he was strongly against Akainu becoming Fleet Admiral. There was a confrontation between the two. The unprecedented conflict between Admirals turned into a duel on a certain island. Dead men tell no tales; the loser would have to hold his tongue for good. Command over the Navy would be entrusted to the victor. Within ten days the fight was the talk of the world. The two powers were quite evenly matched, but..."

"It was settled." Ace finished.

"The victor was Akainu!" Jimbe growled. "The new Fleet Admiral's name, is Sakazuki!"

"Akainu!" Luffy growled, his hand trailing to his chest burn. "Did Aokiji die?"

"Both suffered grave injuries," Jimbe answered. "To see a comrade down before you, even Akainu had some sympathy. Aokiji didn't want to stand below Akainu... he left the Navy."

"So Aokiji isn't a Marine anymore..."

"Yes... I wonder what he's doing, and where," Jimbe muttered. "The government has suffered a great loss with him, though, along with greater losses of manpower with the Marineford War... Marines disillusioned with Sakazuki left the Navy soon after, and have been leaving in droves... fewer people are conscripting... but to fill that gap, the Government's policy is to give the Marines unforeseen power!"

Jimbe took a deep breath. "Listen up, all of you. Remember three gigantic changes that have occurred in the New World in the past two years. First, is that the Headquarters has become an even stronger army of Justice, led by Fleet Admiral Sakazuki. The other is the onslaught of the Blackbeard Pirates."

"Blackbeard!" Ace hissed, as if the word itself was something foul.

"Blackbeard... the guys we met in Mock Town!" Nami recalled.

"The guys who crushed the Drum Kingdom!" Chopper gasped.

"He was a senior member of the Whitebeard Pirates," Jimbe solemnly explained. "He was well acquainted with the Old Man's turf. After Whitebeard died he conquered the remaining territory in the blink of an eye. In the New World, he's alongside Red Hair, Kaido, Big Mom, he has already acquired a position as one of the Yonkou! He's a disgusting man! According to rumour, they are now rousing themselves up for 'power hunting', meaning, they kill Devil Fruit users and have means to take away their powers! They're aiming for the strongest Devil Fruit users, be careful!"

"I'm in danger!" Chopper screamed.

"They don't really need the _Hito Hito no Mi_ , do they?" Usopp muttered.

"Especially Luffy Kun, who has strong connections to Teach," Jimbe muttered. "Take extra- _Luffy Kun! Are you even listening!_ " he yelled at the captain who had resumed eating.

"Aren't you the captain? Take in this information!" Ace yelled, slapping the rubber man in the head. "Dammit, always like this..." somehow, irritation has turned into brotherly affection in the blink of an eye.

"That's okay, Jimbe, as long as we heard it," Sanji assured.

"Eh? Isn't the captain the person who doesn't have to listen to anything?" Chopper innocently asked.

"A captain is entrusted with the lives of his crew, isn't he? Luffy Kun!" Jimbe yelled.

"Hey, did you eat this?" Luffy spoke around a mouthful of food, cheek-pouches hanging out. "Fishman Island's sweets! It's so good! Even better than meat! C'mon, Jimbe, relax! I like leaving things to chance!"

"...you must have it hard." Jimbe hung his head.

"We do," almost all present answered.

"You said there are three changes, right?" Aki questioned. "What's the third?"

Jimbe frowned uneasily as Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Ace walked off to follow some sixth sense of the captain. "About that... be careful, you two. In the New World, Red Hair, Kaido, Blackbeard... they're all searching for Yusei Kun. For what reason, I don't know, but it becomes obvious on hindsight. Yusei Kun, Aki San... be careful. The Straw Hats would become even more targeted."

"Eh?" Nami started. "Is it because...?"

"A man who created a miracle..." Jimbe's heavy gaze landed on the uncomfortable mechanic. "Almost all of the New World will be looking to kill or recruit either one or both of these two entities... Black Rose Witch, Izayoi Aki, or Shooting Star, Fudo Yusei."

"Eh?" Usopp exclaimed. "Why?"

"At the heart of it... the dragons," Jimbe declared. "But, I sense more sinister motives."

"I can't bring back people, I can't save people," Yusei shook his head. "My power is not my own."

"Does it matter to them?" Jimbe questioned. "The Miracle of Marineford... that was your work. You can no longer turn back."

* * *

Jimbe's eerie premonitions followed Yusei throughout the time I took for him to sneak out of the opulent Ryugu Palace and set towards the Sea Forest on foot, away from the party. Nami had accepted the excuse of having something to do, but only with company. Perhaps redefining company would have been better; the production of a warrior immediately found a loophole in doctor's orders and Yusei went out anyway, unnoticed due to his own disposition not to be seen.

He stopped at a certain street on the main island, blinking at a long-legged man in a top hat and a lion-headed man in a suit, complete with bow-ties on both and both carrying sacks tied on their backs, before he shrugged. "For a moment I thought that was Regulus..."

"That's the treasure I stole!" a furious voice sounded behind them. "Give it back!"

The moustachioed tall man stared. "Is that...?"

"I've seen that face somewhere before, _Gaon_!" the lion-headed one remarked as he pulled out a list of bounties. "Ah, here it is. 'Wet-Haired' Caribou. He's a new rookie. Ooh, he's already up to two hundred million Beli."

The rookie pirate in questions cackled madly as machine gun poked out of his stomach. " _Numa Numa no... Gatling Gun!_ Keheeheehee!"

"Mr Pekoms!" someone within the gathering crowd yelled. " _Kyaaa_!"

"Are you...?" Yusei froze as the smoke cleared and the hail of bullets stopped. "This...?"

"Hm?" Caribou paused. "What is that...? A turtle?"

True enough, a turtle shell was poking out on Pekoms' back, sealing up as a very annoyed man that dressed up as a lion for some inexplicable reason stood back up.

"He's got an ability!" Caribou realised.

"Of course..." the man breathed.

"You're probably just some Zoan! Keheeheehee!" Caribou swung a large scythe at the lion-headed man, who immediately punched Caribou in the gut.

" _Gaon_."

Yusei stared as Caribou flew about ten feet and came to rest, bleeding and bruised.

"Logia who think they're invincible have short life-spans," Pekoms remarked.

"The attempts of the half-boiled tire me, _soir_ ," the other said in a truly atrocious French accent. "Now, Pekoms, let us return, _bon_ , to Mama."

"That was..." Yusei froze as the other man's eyes came to rest on him.

"That one is also familiar."

Beside the mechanic, the warrior tensed in preparation to fight.

"'Shooting Star', Fudo Yusei," Pekoms gazed at him unsettlingly as well. "We will be meeting sooner than you think, _Gaon_. Perhaps a change in crew is imminent for you."

"Eh?" Yusei blinked as they walked off to a nearby Fish carrier. "Well, then. Let's get to the Sea Forest."

The trip was shorter than he recalled, perhaps because this time there was no Shirahoshi to pile up outside the plaza. He was more disturbed about Wadatsumi, who had been carried off by the Kraken following the battle. However, finally, with some help from the Scarred Warrior that followed him, he made it to the marble monument right in the middle of the forest of coral, a mausoleum to a beloved dead royal.

Blood dripped from his fingers as he laid down the bloodstained card again.

"Otohime."

She flew from the piece, resplendent and ethereal, orange hair done up in two loops and her floating scarf in light violet like her gloves, or clothings, or jewellery. Her fingers began to fade soon enough despite her smile.

"I'm sorry," Yusei began. "The magic wasn't enough to sustain you forever."

The beautiful figure shook her head.

"You know what awaits you," Yusei spoke. "Everything to zero... they don't need the old ghosts of the island. Ten years of power... all gone."

Black chains that had appeared on her feet broke free, flashing with golden light temporarily as she smiled and nodded quietly.

"By taking this form, you ultimately turn yourself into a spectre to be forgotten," Yusei continued. "Even if this is the price you pay... was it fulfilled? Your wish?"

The woman smiled again, eagerly nodding as she spread her arms, slowly fading into the sunlight of the forest as a last requiem to the clouds that had blacked out the sun for too long.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to see them," Yusei murmured as she slowly began to fade into a golden dust like sunlight that washed across the glade where the mausoleum lay, cleaning away the shadows. "I'm sorry you didn't get to exchange last words with King Neptune. I'm sorry you never got to see your sons become warriors. I'm sorry that you will never be able to answer Princess Shirahoshi. I'm sorry I can't save you... I can only take you this far. The rest... only you can walk it."

The woman froze for a moment, her face screwed into an expression of hesitation before closing her eyes.

_Just a little bit more... but we have reached the end. Shooting star... thank you._

The little glade had never seemed more bright and beautiful as the spirit of Otohime left, like the remains of a glowing star in the coming sun.

Red blood marred the floor as the scarred warrior indicated in concern.

"As the price is paid, so is mine in compensation of blood." Yusei sighed, watching as the cuts and bleeding on his hands slowed and began to mend.

* * *

"But why did you give her everything?" Nami's draconic snarl was the first thing Yusei heard as he re-entered the Ryugu Palace once more.

"That's what you're worried about?" the usual echoes yelled as he entered the banquet hall, admiring that even despite her relative normalcy, Nami was capable of hitting the Logia Ace.

"Alright..." Luffy moaned through the egg-shaped bruises. "Let's go... to the New World..."

"To do what? Die?" They now yelled at him.

"What's going on?" Yusei frowned.

"Oh, Yusei!" Ace grinned despite the bruises he was nursing. "You see, the idiot captain offended one of the Yonkou, Big Mom, to protect Fishman Island as they couldn't produce the tribute, so we're probably dead once we step into the New World."

"Oh," Yusei dead-panned. "...wouldn't be the first time."

"Poker face!" all of them accused him.

Aki sighed wearily. "Idiot captain... we're going to chat regarding your recklessness soon."

"Yusei-sama!" Shirahoshi smiled. "Luffy-sama is so strong!"

"Shirahoshi Hime, that's not the point here, but thank you for the praise," Yusei answered with a completely straight face. "The fact that we might die is only the beginning, of course, but never mind that, we can hope that it would be painless."

"You're getting as morbid as Robin!" Usopp yelled.

"Erm, ah, Yusei-sama, where are you going?" Shirahoshi quickly followed the mechanic.

"Ah, I'm going to have to tune the Kurosai," Yusei answered casually. "Franky San says that I seem better at mechanics, so I'm looking after the vehicles first."

"Eh, that's so awesome!"

All the Straw Hats stared as the mermaid princess and the mechanic amicably chatted as they wandered to where the Sunny was parked.

"...that looks like a crush," Nami commented.

"What?" Aki stood up. "I'm going to ask Yusei about my Bloody Kiss."

"Huh?" Ace muttered as she left. "That Yusei..."

"Eh? Where's Weak-hoshi going?" Luffy commented. "And why is she being so odd around Yusei?"

Ace face-palmed. "The mermaid princess seems to like your mechanic and... that's it."

Sanji and Brook were on all fours, beating the ground with his fists. "Why him and not me... and I can't even hate him, because Shirahoshi likes him..." the cook chanted tearfully.

"Why would Weak-hoshi not?" Luffy pointed out.

" _Huh_?" They all stared at the captain.

"Yusei builds cool stuff!" Luffy literally sparkled at the thought. "He's got dragons! Fighters! Monsters! That crab-hair! Those blank blue eyes like lasers! That poker face! He's...a robot!"

"He's so cool!" Chopper screeched.

"Come to think of it, Yusei's also one of the few more reliable guys on the ship," Nami considered. "He's very reliable..."

"He's difficult to hate, because he's got a good heart," Usopp also considered.

"Yohohoho, Yusei Kun is rather multi-talented!" Brook laughed.

"He's pretty good at building," Franky smirked. "He cares for the Sunny and the Soldier Dock."

"He doesn't steal food, and he can shut Luffy up," Sanji contributed. "He never complained once, even with bathroom duty or Luffy duty on top of the graveyard watch."

"He keeps quiet, and everything keeps quiet with him," Zoro commented. As usual, no one but the swordsman himself understood that everything somehow fell silent and peaceful and ordered around the mechanic.

"Yusei is rather... a ideal man," Robin finished.

"He's... a man," Ace grudgingly contributed. "He cares for people, even strangers he only just met. Serious, calm and clear-minded even in very dangerous situations, rarely acts on impulse and usually thinks things through unlike certain people. You can trust him with your life, I'd know."

"Yep, we can!" Luffy grinned.

"In short..." all of them finished. "... _He's the ideal husband?_ "

"That's bad!" Luffy yelled, his expression rapidly becoming serious. "Men, we've got to prevent Yusei from marrying!"


	13. XII: Bubble Illusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously:
> 
> "Yusei builds cool stuff!" Luffy literally sparkled at the thought. "He's got dragons! Fighters! Monsters! That crab-hair! Those blank blue eyes like lasers! That poker face! He's...a robot!"
> 
> "He's so cool!" Chopper screeched.
> 
> "Come to think of it, Yusei's also one of the few more reliable guys on the ship," Nami considered. "He's very reliable..."
> 
> "He's difficult to hate, because he's got a good heart," Usopp also considered.
> 
> "Yohohoho, Yusei Kun is rather multi-talented!" Brook laughed.
> 
> "He's pretty good at building," Franky smirked. "He cares for the Sunny and the Soldier Dock."
> 
> "He doesn't steal food, and he can shut Luffy up," Sanji contributed. "He never complained once, even with bathroom duty or Luffy duty on top of the graveyard watch."
> 
> "He keeps quiet, and everything keeps quiet with him," Zoro commented. As usual, no one but the swordsman himself understood that everything somehow fell silent and peaceful and ordered around the mechanic.
> 
> "Yusei is rather... a ideal man," Robin finished.
> 
> "He's... a man," Ace grudgingly contributed. "He cares for people, even strangers he only just met. Serious, calm and clear-minded even in very dangerous situations, rarely acts on impulse and usually thinks things through unlike certain people. You can trust him with your life, I'd know."
> 
> "Yep, we can!" Luffy grinned.
> 
> "In short..." all of them finished. "...He's the ideal husband?"
> 
> "That's bad!" Luffy yelled, his expression rapidly becoming serious. "Men, we've got to prevent Yusei from marrying!"

Jimbe was usually a patient man, but the antics of the Straw Hat crew for the last half hour was already testing his generous stores of patience. First, they had dragged him all around the huge Ryugu Palace to find Yusei, only for the mechanic to be at where the Thousand Sunny was parked near the palace, and now they were spying on the mechanic's admittedly dull activities while Aki tried to hint to a rather dimwitted Shirahoshi that Yusei was _not_ on the market, as far as he could guess.

"So, you suspect that our princess has a crush on your handyman, and you want to prevent any outcome of this that could result in marriage," the Fishman sceptically stated, a purple tic forming on his temple as a result of his unique colouring. "Give me one good reason why I should even consider it possible."

"It's Yusei!" Luffy waved his hands around to make his point. "He's cool!"

"That's not a good reason!" Jimbe yelled at him, slapping the air.

Ace whacked his brother on the head. "What Luffy's trying to say, is that Yusei is an ideal husband for any girl, and this idiot captain just realised that."

"That's... actually, that sounds very likely..." Jimbe opened his mouth, and then shut it.

"Eh?" Usopp started.

"For our princess to be married to a fine, upstanding man like Fudo Yusei, it would be the dream of the old king," Jimbe was muttering to himself thoughtfully.

"That's what we're trying to _prevent_!" the entire crew save for Robin yelled.

"Yusei can't go on adventures with us if he's married!" Luffy retorted.

"Even then, if Yusei gets married... to the Mermaid Princess that makes even the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock pale in comparison..." Brook muttered.

Flames appeared around Sanji. "That shitty bastard..."

" _Will be the envy of every man in the world!_ " Both finished.

" _Is that all you guys can think about?_ " Usopp and Nami yelled at them.

"The ship would become more noisy, and Sunny would be more endangered," Franky remarked. "Even so... _why_ are we hiding here, spying on Yusei and Shirahoshi when the ship is clearly ours?"

"The captain has a point," Robin noted. "A married couple being pirates... that cannot happen."

"Shirahoshi's so big..." Chopper considered. "How are they going to get married anyway?"

"...indeed," Robin agreed. "The main problem is not of species, but more of the reproductive barriers behind copula-"

"Stop!" Luffy slapped the air. "Yusei's not gonna get married! Because... he's married to the Yusei Go!"

Complete silence reigned in answer to the captain's declaration.

…

…

…

"... _HOW CAN ANYONE GET MARRIED TO A MOTORBIKE, YOU IDIOT?_ " They yelled in reply, at earth-shattering decibels that it was a wonder that Yusei never heard them as they hit Luffy.

While tending to the other vehicles of the Thousand Sunny, Yusei froze as he sneezed. "Hngh... sorry, Shirahoshi Hime."

"Someone must be talking about Yusei-sama," the princess thoughtfully murmured.

"That's a superstition," Aki snipped back. "Yusei, you were in a bubble about ten thousand metres underwater, you must be cold."

"No, that can't be- _choo!_ " the mechanic gave a stifled sneeze that was scientifically quieter than a mouse on thick carpet again. "I don't get sick..."

"Everyone gets sick, Yusei-sama," Shirahoshi noted bemusedly as the mechanic tried to fight off a concerned red-headed doctor. "It's fine, just some bed rest..."

"I'm not- _Ah-choo!_ " Yusei sniffed miserably, having now sneezed loudly. "I'm _not_ sick."

"Sure you aren't," Aki sarcastically answered as she slipped on her own DuelDisk. Yusei tensed at the motion, before he took off like a shot as she drew, vaulting off the Sunny to the ground and hitting at a dead run.

"You guys!" She yelled to the quarrelling Straw Hats. "Yusei's sick and he won't get treatment! Get him!"

"WHAT?" Luffy yelped, rubber limbs already stretching out. "Yusei! _Gomu Gomu no... Rocket!_ "

"You idiot!" Jimbe and Ace squawked as they were pulled along for the sling-shot that hit Yusei... right into a wall... with a hundred-kilo plus weight...

"Ah! Yusei's bleeding!" Chopper panicked as the mechanic slumped to the ground, knocked out and definitely with broken bones. "Someone get a doctor!"

"That's you!" Zoro yelled.

"Ah, right!"

* * *

"Because you didn't seek medical treatment, you're now in here with a broken arm and leg," Chopper was scolding an already miserable Yusei, who was stuck in the infirmary with casts on one arm and one leg. Ace, Luffy and Jimbe all on heir knees and moaning apologies to a furious Nami. "You're not going to be like Zoro, are you?"

"Sorry, Doctor Chopper," Yusei sniffed, looking not too well. "My head hurts..."

"It's just a normal cold, you'll be fine," Chopper diagnosed.

"Sanji San made some soup for you," Aki said to him as she brought over the tray. "Do you want some?"

"No, thanks," Yusei moaned, sinking back into the pillow. "I just have to sleep, right?"

"That's right, Yusei hasn't slept for about two days already," Aki remarked.

" _Two days?_ " Usopp exclaimed. "And he can _still_ fight? Are you sure he's even human?"

"No worries, bro," Franky smirked. "Between Usopp and me, we'll get the Soldier Dock System up good as new. You just rest before we set off, 'kay? Otherwise our doctor will turn into a gorilla again..."

"Yosh, Yusei, get some rest! Captain's orders!" Luffy yelled as he dragged Ace out. "We're going to the Mermaid Café!"

"Mermaids!" Sanji yelled happily before turning to Yusei. "You, rest. If you upset Aki-sensei, you eat my soles."

"Yes, Sanji San," the mechanic sniffed. "I'm very sorry for the trouble..."

"Idiot," Zoro scoffed at him. "Don't push yourself beyond your limits. Just because our captain is an idiot who doesn't know them doesn't mean that you have to follow in his footsteps."

"Pot, kettle, black," Usopp and Franky waved a hand together at Zoro's hypocrisy.

"I wanna go to the Mermaid Café..." Chopper moaned as the older Straw Hats began filing out.

"I have some free time now," Jimbe volunteered. "Go ahead. I have nursed colds before."

"Really? Thank you, Boss!" Chopper grinned as he ran out, dragging a laughing Aki along with him.

This left the mechanic alone with a large blue Fishman.

"The princess was really worried about you," Jimbe offered.

"I see." Yusei flopped back. "I'm fine, you know."

"I promised," the older Fishman rumbled. "After all, I slammed you into the wall, it was partly my fault."

"It was Luffy San, don't worry about it," Yusei dead-panned.

Neither said anything for a few moments.

"What was that you summoned in Gyoncorde Plaza?" Jimbe inquired lightly.

That questioned earned him a hard look through cobalt eyes before Yusei nodded. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

* * *

"Like I said, Yusei's a robot!" Luffy insisted as the Mermaid Café was in a tizz over them, Sanji waltzing and flirting about and Brook politely requesting to see women's underwear while cackling and playing his violin. "He's so dead-pan I've never seen him other than cool!" A few moments passed before he nodded as well. "Robin's a robot as well!"

"Stop shitting around!" Sanji kicked him. "How can my beautiful Robin Chan be a robot? You idiot!"

"Never, huh?" Ace grumbled. "...I've never seen him like that too..."

"Eh? Yusei-chin is sick?" Keimi whined as Usopp told her the bad news. "That's bad!"

"No worries," Brook grinned. "Jimbe's watching him as a favour to us. Yusei Kun will be fine, or I'm not Dead Bones Brook~!"

"Still, if we get another Zoro I'm gonna die from stress..." Chopper moaned. "Even with Aki..."

Nami considered. "Come to think of it... I've never quite seen Yusei sick before."

"Me too," Usopp thought. "It's... weird. It's creepy."

"It's like something is not right with the world," Robin added, smiling mysteriously. "In a way, perhaps it is not..."

"It's also my first time seeing Yusei sick," Aki murmured. "He'll be fine, though... it's unsettling."

Zoro yawned as he shifted in his seat. "Oh? Where are we?"

"You fell asleep?" almost everyone yelled at him.

* * *

"I wonder if leaving Yusei there was really the best idea..." Aki murmured worriedly as she walked with the other Straw Hats in the high street of Fishman Island, back to the Sunny.

"No worries, Jimbe is-" Luffy was interrupted as he rammed straight into a giant bowl which must be half the Sunny's height. "Huh?"

"It's a giant bowl?" Nami commented.

"Everyone!" Shirahoshi piped up happily, hovering near the Sunny with the help of a bubble tube. "I brought soup for Yusei-sama while you were away."

"It's alright, Shirahoshi Chan!" Sanji waltzed about as Aki ran up to the Sunny.

"Yusei?" she blinked, seeing the mechanic sprawled out on deck.

"Yusei-sama was telling me a few stories about to above world!" Shirahoshi smiled.

"It's... no problem," the mechanic answered in a strained voice.

"My apologies, Luffy Kun," Jimbe rumbled, sitting in _seiza_ beside Yusei and enjoying a cup of tea. "Shirahoshi Hime insisted on nursing him, and Yusei Kun was an admirable entertainer. Even though by all rights he should be resting he still made the effort to make the princess comfortable. Indeed, he would make his future wife happy."

"J- Jimbe!" Yusei exclaimed, eyes wide.

"D- Don't joke about those sorts of things, Jimbe San!" Aki insisted, before both Duellists looked away shyly.

Sanji's eyes narrowed. "When you think about it... Aki-sensei is very protective of Yusei..."

Brook nodded. "Yes... but the suspicious behaviour of the princess, those bright eyes, that look she directs at him..."

 _He's already captured her heart..._ both thought at the same time. _So jealous..._

"Yusei!" Luffy bellowed. "What stories?"

"Ah, there was that one time we went to this island with Ace San and met a Dark Armed Dragon," Yusei smiled. "Do you want to hear it?"

"Don't talk about that one, idiot!" Ace bellowed. "Dammit, I wanna keep my pride!"

"Being fried by dragons isn't shameful, Ace San."

"I was back-stabbed by killer tomatoes! And I don't wanna hear that from you of all people!"

"Truly, an admirable man," Jimbe nodded solemnly. "There is only that problem being that Yusei Kun is a wanted man... and that great secret..."

"Tell a story!" Luffy plopped down on the deck, Yusei having made himself comfortable with a few blankets and pillows and a futon. "With sakura radio onigiri rice sumo udon!"

"Are you playing _Shiritori_!" Usopp slapped him. "And why are most of them food!"

"That's a tall order..." Yusei considered. "How about... no, we can tell ghost stories tonight. For now, I'll tell the story of the Inpachi, is that okay?"

"Adventure!" Luffy cheered, having mostly recovered over the course of the few days of parties. "Adventures!"

"Stories..." Jimbe rumbled. "Like the story of Otohime..."

"You know..." Aki answered him. "What Otohime did..."

"The queen..." Jimbe sniffed, the usually stoic mask cracking. "I... I'm proud to have served the queen... Queen Otohime, for your nobility to have transcended life and death..."

"Are you crying?" Sanji drawled as he headed to the galley. "Shirahoshi Chan, I'll get some tea, okay?"

"The girls of the Mermaid Café made lots of cakes for Yusei," Nami sighed as she and Robin produced carrying boxes of the delicate pastries. "Normally, sick people shouldn't eat, but with this bottomless cauldron to feed you'd best eat them quickly, Yusei."

"Thank you, Nami San, Robin San," Yusei gave a small smile. "Shirahoshi Hime, Jimbe San, why don't you stay for tea?"

"Y- Yes!" the princess beamed.

"I- I'm not crying..." Jimbe quickly wiped his face. "I'll stay..."

"Yohohoho!" Brook laughed as Franky got out a guitar as well. "in that case, this calls for music!"

As the chords were struck, the sun shone warmly down on the happy crew, the shadows of the island's past gone at long last.


	14. XIII: Oh F!sh!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Yohohoho!" Brook laughed as Franky got out a guitar as well. "In that case, this calls for music!"
> 
> As the chords were struck, the sun shone warmly down on the happy crew, the shadows of the island's past gone at long last.

The sun dawned over Fishman Island once again, light sparkling over the peaceful undersea kingdom in some tranquillity brought on for over a week since the battle of Gyoncorde Plaza.

"Madame Shyarly! Luffy-chin and his crew are going to leave the island!"

"Oh, really? Go see them off."

"OKAY!"

"Madame, can we go too~?" the request rang through the small room of the Mermaid Café on Coral Hill.

"Hmm...? Fine then, we'll have to close up shop temporarily." the Madame gave a small smile. "The customers that idiot Hody was keeping away will be back soon. Make sure to keep the Café alive with energy, girls."

"Leave it to us, Madame!" A chorus answered.

Keimi, unnoticed by the hubbub of giggling mermaids, noticed something. "Ah...!"

"About the crystal?" Madame mused, looking at the broken shards of the crystal ball. "That's it for me... truly, I won't be telling another fortune. 'Strawhat Luffy will destroy the island'... I didn't want to see such a terrible fortune to begin with. Nothing would make me happier than if I was wrong..."

"But, Madame!" Keimi protested. "Luffy-chin and his crew would never do such a-"

"Keimi..." the Madame interrupted. "Forgive me for suspecting your friends... I know I can believe in him, right? That boy with the straw hat..."

Keimi visibly brightened. "...Yes!"

"That Signer..." Madame Shyarly mused as the mermaid left. "If, truly... give us hope, if nothing else."

* * *

"Waah! You're really leaving, Luffy-sama?" the Princess Shirahoshi was crying again. "But we just became friends! Please, just one more day... no, one more week! One more year!"

"You've been doing nothing but crying, Weak-hoshi!" Luffy scolded.

"I-I'm sorry, I'll stop being a crybaby!" Shirahoshi sniffed. " _Hic, hic._.. Yusei-sama! Please don't leave!"

"Ahh, the Mermaid Princess of Fishman Island..." Sanji cried. "How long I've dreamt of seeing you with my own eyes... but to think that I'll see you give us a tearful goodbye like this! I wish we could stay for another year!"

"I feel your pain, _yohohoho_!" Brook laughed. "'Life on Fishman Island is a Dream' will be my new single! 'One, two, three, four... morning! Wake up, good Mer- ning!'"

"That's a good idea, I agree," Zoro drawled. "You should definitely stay, _nosebleed boy._ "

" _What did you say, marimo!_ " Flames erupted "Be careful during the next meal we have! I'll teach you not to mess with this cook!"

"Bring it on! I'll digest poison, razor blades, whatever you've got!"

"How lively," Yusei monitored from the sidelines, before looking at the depressed Usopp and Chopper. "What a contrast..."

"There's got to be a limit to depression...-.-" Ace muttered.

"We're finished..." Usopp wept. "One of the Yonkou is after us now! We're going to the New World to die...!"

"I wonder, if maybe we gave her all the treasures we have from here on out, she'll forgive us..." Chopper joined him.

"... not likely," Aki muttered.

"Huh? What is this?" Nami exclaimed loudly as she brandished a sort of watch outfitted with three Log Poses.

"Oh, it's a New World Log Pose," Ace drawled, fishing about in his pockets. "Nope... mine must've been stolen."

"Wow! It looks pretty cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"On the Grand Line, Log Poses record the magnetic waves coming from the next island you're going to, allowing you to use that to navigate your ship," the catfish minister was explaining. "But, on the second half, there exists islands with differing ocean currents, weather, and magnetic waves which have been your only trustworthy source so far! There are even some islands which los their magnetic waves while you navigate towards them."

"What?" Nami exclaimed. "Then, how do we get to those islands?"

"If you were using one compass, you'll be shipwrecked right away," the minister pointed. "But, if you were using three... one of those compasses is shaking like your Log Pose, but the other two are completely still! Each of those compasses record the magnetic waves of a differing island. In other words, you must use your intuition to choose your path, and depending on how you choose, it could mean the difference between life and death! Master navigators can find safer routes just from seeing subtle changes in the movements of the compass needles. Basically, the stranger the movement of the needle is, the more dangerous the island you're heading to is!"

"What? No! I don't like this!" Nami screamed. "I'd rather not know at all!"

"Why? If you don't search for safer routes, you can die you know..."

"It's going to tell me how dangerous each route is? No! Break this, I don't want it!" Nami yelped.

"Let me see!" the voice of doom caused both her and Usopp to start. "Look, the one in the middle is _really_ shaking!"

" _NOOOOOO_!"

"Let's go to that island, it looks fun!"

"HE OVERHEARD US!"

"Knowing Luffy, we'll be taking the most dangerous routes from here on out..." Ace drawled, grinning. "Good."

"Luffy, you just be quiet!" Nami screamed. "I'm the one choosing which route we take from here on out!"

"Says who? I'm the captain!"

"Please, listen to the navigator!" Chopper and Usopp cried.

"Nami San's so cute when she's scared~"

"Coupled with the 'B-Side Requiem' for us!" Brook cackled.

"Alright, guys!" Franky appeared.

"Why a beetle!" Ace yelped.

"We're all ready to set out!" Franky yelled. "I learned how to float up too! Ready to go?"

"Let's go!" Luffy yelled loudly as the crew began to bid farewell.

"Nyuu, I'm going to help them repair the factory," an injured Hachi waved. "You don't mind if I don't guide you, right?"

"No worries!" Luffy grinned. "The adventure here was fun, you know!"

"Yep, that's right!" Usopp yelled. " _We don't need people to guide us! Because when men head on a journey, they're always heading to hell!_ "

" _Yeah! It's war out there!_ " Chopper joined him. " _And we like it that way!_ "

"So desperate..." Robin commented.

"Come back soon, everyone~!" the mermaids cooed.

" _We'll be back, you bet! You're the All Blue of my heart, ladies~!_ "

"What a cheap dream."

" _What d'you say?_ "

"You're so funny, Sanji Chan!"

"Thank you for saving my life," Yusei formally bowed as the Crown Prince of the island approached them.

Prince Fukaboshi disagreed as he clasped hands with both Luffy and Yusei. "Both of you, you have nothing but my gratitude! Thank you! I pray for your safety on your next journey!"

"Okay!" Luffy grinned.

"Next time you meet us, we'll be leading the strongest army on the ocean floor!" Manboshi cheered.

"Yeah! We're going to rewrite the legend of the Great Neptune Knights, mi-fa-so-la-ti-do~" Ryuboshi added.

"Heehee!" Luffy chuckled. "I can't wait to see it! Jimbe!"

Silently, the old Fishman gave a wide grin that Luffy returned as Yusei waved back.

"Okay, set sail! We're setting off!" Luffy bellowed. "See ya, Fishman Island!"

The chorus from the islanders echoed. _"We'll have more sweets and meat for you to eat!" "You made us like humans!" "Oh, and raccoons and robots too!"_

"What about skeletons?" Brook yelled.

" _We like them too!"_

"Why thank you!"

"Take care! Luffy-chin!"

"Come back and eat some takoyaki!"

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed.

A sopping wet and large hand draped over the deck, and Shirahoshi's face poked out. "Luffy-sama! Yusei-sama! If we... if we ever meet again!"

"Uwaah! Weak-hoshi!"

"Shirahoshi Chan~!" Sanji waltzed about.

"Haa, haa..." the princess took a while to catch her breath. "When that time comes... I won't be a crybaby anymore! So... please take me on another fun walk!"

"A walk?" Luffy echoed. "You wanna visit your mother's grave again?"

"Next time I want to go further... to the surface, to see a real forest!" Shirahoshi answered cheerfully.

"Oh... that's right, you've never been out to sea!" Luffy realised. "Okay, sure! Next time I'll take you there!"

"It's a promise!" Shirahoshi held out a pinky.

"Yep, sure thing!" Luffy's pinky wrapped around her own. "It's a promise!"

"Luffy, don't we all have responsibility for that?" Nami exclaimed.

"Luffy San, you have to keep your promises no matter what, you know?" Brook laughed as the crew headed over.

"Okay, then, Shirahoshi, I promise!"

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

"Remember, Shirahoshi Hime," Yusei gave a small smile. "The shooting star can grant wishes... but you have to take the first step."

"Shishishi, alright, now no more crying!" Luffy laughed.

"...yes!" the princess smiled, continuing to wave as the ship passed, out to the next adventure...

"Thank you for everything!" Tears of joy landed in the waters as the Mermaid Princess cried farewell. "Luffy-sama! Yusei-sama! Everyone! Thank you, shooting star Sama! I'll never forget it! Thank you!"

"Too bad he's a wanted man..." Neptune muttered.

"What wrong, Father?" Prince Fukaboshi asked.

"That Fudo Yusei... he was the ideal consort for Shirahoshi."

" _What?_ " all three princes freaked, along with most of the kingdom.

"It'll be difficult to find another like him..." Jimbe commented wryly. "What a high standard the king has set."

* * *

"Ahhhh, that was the best... Mermaid Heaven..."

"Alright, everyone, it's time to get serious again!" Nami called. "We're going to be passing through the dark black seas again!"

"What's that, Franky?" Usopp pointed to a rope of wood blocks at the entrance.

"Oh, those Kuigosu wood chips are extremely buoyant, so I'm using them to float our ship up," the shipwright commented. "We can change our speed by the amount we dangle out."

"...? What's wrong, Luffy?" Zoro called to the captain, who was still standing on the lion head of the Sunny as the Thousand Sunny floated out of the Ryugu Kingdom.

"Once we reach the ocean... we'll be in the same ocean as Shanks!" Luffy grinned. "I really want to see him... once we get to the surface, we'll be in the strongest sea in the world!"

"We're finally here," Zoro grinned. "I'll cut everything down!"

"Please wait for me, Laboon!" Brook laughed. "I'm already halfway there!"

"I'll take us anywhere we want to go!" Nami laughed.

"That's right, Sunny can handle anything!" Franky smirked.

"You needn't worry about food as long as I'm here!" Sanji promised.

"Fight as much as you want, everyone!" Chopper yelled.

"As a doctor, we're here," Aki promised.

"And remember you've got a warrior of the sea riding with you!" Usopp joined him.

"I don;t really know what I can do... but, I'll never leave," Yusei gave a small smile.

"Fufu..." Robin giggled.

"This crew, and my little brother... they'll drive me insane sooner or later," Ace drawled, his hat shielding his eyes. "But, I'm still sticking around anyway."

"Let's go, you guys!" Luffy yelled. "To the New World!"

" _OOOOOOOHHHHHHH_!"

* * *

"Usopp, Yusei!" Luffy complained later as the Sunny slowly ascended through from the bottom of the sea. "Hurry up, I'm hungry!"

"A weak and shoddy rope won't stand a chance against a giant fish!" Usopp chided as all three of the 'Engineer Musketeers' i.e. those with any idea of mechanics were stringing together a large fishing rope.

"All of you look like you're having fun," Robin smiled.

"Shishishi!" Luffy chuckled. "With all the excitement on Fishman Island the idea didn't even occur to me, but if we catch a deep sea fish then Sanji can make some awesome grub out of it, right?"

"I hope we get one that tastes like cola!" Franky grinned.

"That's a great idea," Zoro commented. "The day we break into the New World, we should have a party to remember it by... maybe we could fry that one up with a bit of salt..."

"I'll bet that one looks good with some mayonnaise on top!" Luffy pointed.

"This one would be tasty dipped in sauce and grilled." Usopp pointed.

"That one looks like steamboat..." Ace drooled.

"It doesn't matter!" Luffy declared. "Whatever Sanji does, it'll be delicious! _Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!_ "

"I knew it!" Usopp yelped. "You wanted to eat that one with mayonnaise, didn't you? Isn't it a little big?"

"Hurry, hurry, catch it!" Luffy danced around.

"I got it, I got it..." Usopp's eyes then popped out as another huge fish caught their fish. "Waah! It ate it!"

An even bigger fish then ate that one.

"Gyah! Holy crap, another crap!" Usopp yelled. "They're going in one after the next like those nesting dolls!"

"I think you mean _Matryoshka_ dolls, Usopp San," Yusei corrected.

"It's too much, the ship's gonna capsize!" Franky yelped.

" _Ittoryu... Sanhyaku-rokujuu Pound Hou!_ "

Sanji considered the giant fish. "I see! This is great! I can't wait to try my hand at deep sea fish cuisine!"

"Why are you all burnt...?" Usopp muttered.

"It gets better!" Luffy grinned. "There's two more inside! More fish o go around!"

"By the way... is this ship still moving forward?" Usopp muttered. "I'm no expert, but I get the feeling that we're sinking..."

"Me too, Usopp San," Yusei noted.

"It's just your imagination!" Luffy chuckled. "Oh, what's that, a snake?"

"A giant sea snake?" Franky commented at the sight.

"Alright, get closer to it!" Luffy declared. "We're gonna eat that too!"

"The ship can't pull anymore!" Usopp yelped.

"Hold on..." Robin squinted. "That can't possibly be..."

"Huh?" Luffy looked to her.

" _Whitestrom_!" Robin declared.

"It looks like a giant dragon and is known to appear on the sea floor without warning..." Ace commented as he looked at it too. "A giant white whirlpool."

"A whirlpool underwater?" Luffy leaned out for a better look.

"The 'Whitestrom'?" Nami barged out of the bath. "We've got to do something!"

"Ships that have been caught in its pull are usually found days later unbelievably far away..." Robin added. "I might emphasise only the ships are found."

"You're saying that every last person on the ship dies, right?" Usopp screamed. "Hey! We've gotta escape!"

"To waters unbelievably far away?" Luffy echoed. "So... that the warp zone of my dreams?"

"No, you idiot!" Usopp slapped him upside the head.

"Everyone!" Nami reached the deck on time. "Hurry, we've got to get away from that eddy!"

"Come on,you heard the navigator!" Usopp echoed. "We're definitely running for it, you hear me?"

"Kyaaa!" Nami had spotted their catch. " _What's with that fish?_ "

"Ah, we caught it," Luffy smiled as he gave a V.

" _What the hell are you thinking?_ " Nami raged. "If the ship tries to pull something that big,there's no way it can move!"

"Hey, the fish is getting caught in the whirlpool!" Usopp yelled.

"Crap, get it back!" Luffy yelled.

"No, cut it loose!" Nami yelled.

"Ehh?" Most of the men looked in despair.

"The fish or your lives, which is more important?" Nami yelled. "I took my eyes off for ten minutes with Aki and look at the trouble you got us into! And, Yusei! Why didn't you..." she quietened at the sight of a sleeping Yusei tangled in the ropes.

"Oh, yeah, Yusei hadn't slept for over three days to fix the ship," Chopper commented.

"Nami sighed. "Franky, Coup de Burst!"

"Nope, it's Super way too late!" Franky posed, albeit quietly.

"Ah..." Nami trailed off as the ship was pulled into the storm.

"See?"

"Uwaah! We're in for it now!" Luffy grinned.

"Hold onto the ship, hang on for your lives!" Nami called. "And someone hold down Yusei!"

Both D brothers held onto the rapidly awaking handyman as the Sunny turned and twisted through the Whitestrom, before...

"It stopped?" Nami realised.

"We've hit something..." Luffy took a look, his eyes bugging out. " _Uwaaaahhh_!"

Brook began to tear up at the sight of so many Island Whales. "Laboon! You have gotten so big-!"

"Don't be an idiot!"Usopp yelled. "Laboon is in the first half of the Grand Line! His huge body can't even make it through the Red Line's hole!"

"This is incredible!" Robin commented. "We've run into an entire school of the miraculous Island Whales!"

"Ah..." Yusei blinked his eyes open. "Sorry, I fell asleep... whales?"

"They've got scars on their heads just like Laboon!" Zoro squinted.

"Yeah, that scar looks exactly the same!" Luffy yelped. "Man, that really surprised me! So they're not Laboon?"

"Huge..." Ace commented.

" _Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo!_ _Laboon!_ _Stop! Can you here me? It's me, Brook!_ "

"Pull yourself together!" Usopp smacked him. "They're just other whales, understand?"

" _Laboon_!"

"This is no time to relax and go whale watching!" Sanji yelped. "Even if we've escaped the whirlpool, we're still in plenty of danger here! First of all, did anyone get washed away in the current just now? Nami San!"

"Here."

"Robin Chan!"

"I'm here."

"Aki-sensei!"

"Here."

"Okay, next we've got to get away from here!" Sanji declared. "If any of those whales crash into us, the ship will be smashed!"

"Sanji, the other nine of us are still alive!" Usopp yelled.

"Yeah, count us too!" Chopper screeched.

"Nami San, orders?"

"We're fine where we are."

"You here that? We're fine where we are, idiots!" Sanji gave a thumbs up. "Now, let's go whale-watching!"

" _What the hell is with you?_ " Usopp yelled.

"This giant school of whales moving have already caused another current!" Nami argued. "If we were to go against that current, we'd be in even more danger! For now, we need to open the sails and follow the whales in the same direction!"

" _OKAY!_ "

One of the whales bellowed, reminding the skeleton musician of something. "That's right... this is where Laboon was born... Are you his relatives, perhaps!"

"Look out, Brook!" Robin warned.

"Have you been looking for a baby whale that got lost from his school fifty years ago! Don't worry, he's in the ocean on the other side! He's doing really well! And he's gotten so big too! So please try not to worry!" Brook was obviously lost...

"We've caught the current!" Luffy called as Brook took out his violin.

 _Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,_  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho, 

_Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo_  
Umikaze kimakase namimakase  
Shio no mukou de, yuuhi mo sawagu  
Sora nya wa wo kaku, tori no uta 

_Sayonara minato, Tsumugi no sato yo_  
DON to icchou utao, funade no uta  
Kinpa-ginpa mo shibuki ni kaete  
Oretacha yuku zo, umi no kagiri 

_Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo_  
Warera kaizoku, umi watteku  
Nami wo makura ni, negura wa fune yo  
Ho ni hata ni ketateru wa dokuro 

_Arashi ga kita zo, senri no sora ni_  
Nami ga odoru yo, DORAMU narase  
Okubyoukaze ni fukarerya saigo  
Asu no asahi ga nai ja nashi!

 _Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,_  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho, 

"Hey, you're enjoying this too!" Luffy laughed as the whales bellowed and boomed along.

"Let's ride along with them just like this!" Nami laughed. "It'll be just like riding the rising current."

 _Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo_  
Kyou ka asu ka to yoi no yume  
Te wo furu kage ni, mou aenai yo  
Nani wo kuyokuyo, asu mo tsukuyo 

_Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo_  
DON to icchou utao, unaba no uta  
Douse dare demo itsuka wa hone yo  
Hatenashi, atenashi, waraibanashi!

 _Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,_  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho...

"We're about to pass to the surface!' Luffy bellowed as he saw light, light that flooded onto the Sunny and burst through with the happy bellows of whale-song into the second half of the Grand Line, into the New World at long last. "WE'RE OUT!"

"The weather is terrible!" Was Usopp's first cry.

"Yohohoho! The sky is pouring!" Brook laughed.

"The wind is blowing strong!" Robin commented.

"The sea is crashing!" Franky commented.

"The compass needle is all over the place!" Despite this, Nami was smiling.

"The sea looks red!" Chopper yelped.

"A surging sea of flames!" Sanji smirked.

"It looks like the entrance to hell," Zoro grinned.

"A long journey awaits," Aki gave a nod.

"We'll have a storm to pass through," Yusei added.

"This terrible ocean... and I'm here to see it again," Ace laughed.

Luffy echoed all their thoughts. " _Perfect!_ "


	15. XIV: Water Hazard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The weather is terrible!" Was Usopp's first cry.
> 
> "Yohohoho! The sky is pouring!" Brook laughed.
> 
> "The wind is blowing strong!" Robin commented.
> 
> "The sea is crashing!" Franky commented.
> 
> "The compass needle is all over the place!" Despite this, Nami was smiling.
> 
> "The sea looks red!" Chopper yelped.
> 
> "A surging sea of flames!" Sanji smirked.
> 
> "It looks like the entrance to hell," Zoro grinned.
> 
> "A long journey awaits," Aki gave a nod.
> 
> "We'll have a storm to pass through," Yusei added.
> 
> "This terrible ocean... and I'm here to see it again," Ace laughed.
> 
> Luffy echoed all their thoughts. "Perfect!"

A _taiko_ drum beat as tea was steadily poured out. The where and why of a taiko drum being on the Thousand Sunny itself was already questionable, but the questionably funny things were often found around this ship, anyway.

"You're pretty damn calm about this," Robin remarked to Yusei as they sat in the makeshift tea ceremony, the handyman having been forcibly excused from watch duty.

"Well..." Yusei offered a cup to the archaeologist. "Right now, the rest of us are panicking, right? There's enough panic from them already."

"Take care of yourself, Laboon!" Brook was bidding the whales farewell.

"None of the three compasses are pointing towards that island!" Nami was bellowing to the captain. "It's weird even for a weird place like the New World!"

"I don't care, I wanna go there!" Luffy complained. "Besides, who cares about the compasses!"

"We can't!" Nami screamed. "We can't get any closer!" She turned to the handyman and the sleeping Ace. "Ace! Yusei! Talk some sense into him, please! That's the Sea of Fire!"

"Oi, Luffy, I got some bad news," Sanji, hefting a saw over one shoulder, yelled. "You know that deep sea fish we caught? Aside from the pieces I cut out, it all got burnt to a crisp."

Ace woke up. "Salt, water, and burnt fish... smells like fish soup."

"Do you even _get_ the danger we're in...?" Aki sighed wearily as she accepted a cup too.

"A fish got _burnt_ in the ocean?" Usopp exclaimed. "Then our ship is next!"

"No way, the Sunny's not going to lose to something like that!" Franky cried, posing.

"Who cares about winning or losing?" Nami yelled at him. "This ocean's crazy! All the fish we're seeing are all bones! Bones! Bones! Bones!"

Brook's head listed. "Yes? You rang?"

And overhead, the DenDen Mushi began crying maniacally in the galley lounge. "Oi, the DenDen Mushi is crying!" Luffy shouted.

"I'll get it," Yusei made to stand.

"Wait!" Robin called, reaching out a hand. "There's less than a fifty percent chance that this emergency signal is the real thing! There's a big chance it could be a trap that Marines often use. If you answer and the DenDen Mushi gets tapped, they could discover our location!"

"That's our Robin!" Usopp praised. "Yusei! Think carefully about this one!"

"No worries, Yusei, I'll get it!" Luffy had a big grin as he picked up the speaker. "Hello? I'm Luffy! I'm the man who's going to be Pirate King!"

"You didn't even wait a second!" Usopp smacked him on the head. "And you said way too much!"

" _HELP_ _ME!_ " the DenDen Mushi cried out. " _AH... IT'S SO COLD... IS THAT YOU, BOSS?_ "

"No, this isn't your boss," Luffy yelled back. "Is it cold there?"

" _THE CREW KEEPS GETTING KILLED ONE AFTER ANOTHER...! THEY KEEP GETTING KILLED BY THE SAMURAI... HAA..._ "

"Oi, are you alright?" Luffy yelled. "What's your name?"

" _I DON'T CARE WHO COMES, JUST PLEASE, SOMEONE... HELP US! WE'RE ON... PUNK HAZARD! UWWAAAH! HE STABBED ME! GYAAAAAAHHHH! bzzt~_ "

"...smells like trouble!" Luffy considered after a while.

"HE SAID HE GOT STABBED! THIS IS TROUBLE! HE JUST GOT KILLED!" Usopp and Chopper both yelled at their captain's denseness.

"But if he was acting, this could be a trap," Robin pointed out.

"Stay cool~, c'mon!" Brook sang.

"What was that samurai thing he mentioned, Brook?" Zoro drawled.

"Ah, samurai is what they call the swordsmen of Wa no Kuni," Brook elaborated. "It's a country with a closed-door policy on outsiders, they aren't even affiliated with the World Government. Their samurai swordsmen are so strong that not even Marines dare go near."

"I didn't even know there was a country like that...!" Usopp gasped.

"But he didn't say Wa no Kuni, he said Punk Hazard!" Franky pointed out. "Could it be that fire island?"

"I imagine that would be the only island in this range the baby DenDen Mushi would be usable with..." Robin considered.

"True..." Yusei agreed with her. "Though, given the conditions of the New World, that could be really doubtful..."

"Alright!" Luffy stood up. "Let's go save that guy!"

This... provoked a variety of reactions, ranging from bald-faced indifference to "NO!", "We're already too late!", "Samurai sounds scary!" and "I'm scared too!" the crew of the Straw Hat Pirates.

From Yusei? "... I really don't look forward to pulling straws now."

* * *

A while away, the same transmission was playing out on a Marine vessel...

" _...PUNK HAZARD! … GYAAAAAAHHHH! bzzt~_ "

"Smoker-san!" Captain Tashigi of Grand Line Base Five, abbreviated G5, reported. "Did you hear that?"

"Dammit... just what kind of route did they take...?" the rough voice gotten from chain-smoking and testosterone and fighting growled as the burly Marine Vice-Admiral muttered.

"Ow! It's hot!"

"Stop that!" Tashigi barked. "Stop torturing the pirate!"

"Normally, at least, there's a one in three chance," Smoker muttered. "The three islands that Log Poses would point to from Fishman Island are Risky Red Island, Raijin Island and Mystoria Island. I'd bet on Raijin Island, since that would be the targeted by the needle shaking most violently. Never thought he'd ignore them all..."

"But, Smoker-san!" Tashigi pointed out. "Punk Hazard is a deserted island that's been closed off ever since that incident four years ago! It's strange that there would even be people there."

"True," the White Hunter agreed. "It doesn't seem like the place where any sort of creature would exist now, but that's our only clue. We're setting out, men!"

This prompted a variety of reactions from the Marines of G5. " _WHAT?! Vice-Admiral Smoker! It's prohibited to disembark there!_ "

"You lowlifes have no right to talk to me about laws!" Smoker barked. "Now move the damn ship, scum!"

" _Aye-aye, sir!_ "

* * *

Occasionally, pulling straws amongst the Straw Hat Pirates was a risky endeavour that betted one's life against the luck of the draw. Here was one very good reason why only Luffy was exempt...

"Here you go," Sanji handed over the wrapped _bento_ box. "One deep-sea fish lunch box."

"Oh! I can't wait!" Luffy was salivating on it. "Who pulled the winning straws?"

"We did," Zoro, Robin and Usopp held theirs up.

"Someone trade with me!" Usopp cried. "Yusei!"

"Ace would like to, but he lost," Aki bemusedly answered as the older D cried by the sidelines.

"I'm so excited~" Robin commented.

Nami raised one stick of the Clima Tact. " _Milky Rod!_ "

"WOOOW!" Luffy shouted as misty puffs gathered from the rod and reached through the sea of fire. "She made a road of clouds! So you learned how to do that thing we saw on Sky Island!"

"Eheheh!" Nami laughed self-depreciatingly. "But remember, they're clouds, so you have to move while they're together!"

"Good luck, everyone!" Chopper called from the Sunny as the Mini Merry II set off.

"Alright! Let's go survey the island! We're counting on you, Mini Merry!" Luffy was already eating as they started. "Wow, this deep-sea fish is delicious!"

" _Somebody trade with me!_ " Usopp was still crying. "Ow, hot!"

"You just got lucky this time..." Franky drawled.

"We'll go later," Sanji answered.

"Yohohoho, be safe!" Brook waved.

"Hang in there, Usopp-san!" Yusei called.

"Yeah, hang in there!" Nami called.

"Do the clouds stretch all the way to the island?" Brook suddenly asked.

"Who knows..." Nami murmured.

"I hope they're alright..." Aki frowned.

"They'll be fine," Yusei nodded as he held a piece of ice close to Chopper.

"Ahh, I'm so glad I lost in the 'who goes with Luffy' lottery," Chopper panted. "I'm no good in the heat..."

"I wanna go..." Ace moaned.

"Well, we can't let him go there all alone," Nami shrugged, holding up her long orange hair to cool off. "He'll come back once he realises that there's nothing there."

"Alright!" Sanji yelled as Franky and Brook cheered in the background. "Now I'll whip up a cool deep-sea fish dessert for you, Nami-san~!"

"Yusei?" Nami asked as Yusei pulled out a card to glance at it. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing..." Yusei sighed. "Just that we'll have to search the whole island later."

"There's one here?" Ace asked, no longer joking.

"I'm not sure," Yusei answered.

Nami was still frowning.

"Something wrong, Nami?" Franky asked.

"...yeah," Nami related. "It's the clouds. Now that I've taken a good look at it, something is wrong with the sky over this island. The other side looks like the sky during a frigid winter..."

"Hah, yeah right!" Franky was chowing down his dessert.

"I... have a very bad feeling," Yusei suddenly stood up as a mist drifted over the Sunny. "This... Aki! The canisters!"

"Yes!" Aki left, entering the infirmary and closing the door, which locked with a click. It was only for this reason that Izayoi Aki escaped as the Straw Hat Pirates began falling one by one to sleeping gas.

"Nami-san~! Aki-sensei~!" Sanji waltzed out of the galley. "This time I've brought a cold deep-sea crepe for you~! With some champagne... huh? You're asleep..."

The cook stopped. "Fog?"

He took a deep breath before he staggered. "This isn't fog!" He moved for the DenDen Mushi, but fell before he could ever reach it...

"Four humans and one humanoid iron man," one of the few uninvited boarding members in a hazard suit reported. "Ad one pet... tie them all up."

"Roger!"

"They're pirates, how ideal... let's present them to M, no one would notice... if some pirates suddenly disappeared..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I'm not giving up on Huge Revolution yet, but I'm waiting for Oda to continue writing so that I have enough room to play around with the plot. I've also got a few projects i want to write, so please support my other fics as well!
> 
> Please review!


	16. XV: Aqua Jet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Something wrong, Nami?” Franky asked.  
> “...yeah,” Nami related. “It's the clouds. Now that I've taken a good look at it, something is wrong with the sky over this island. The other side looks like the sky during a frigid winter...”  
> “Hah, yeah right!” Franky was chowing down his dessert.  
> “I... have a very bad feeling,” Yusei suddenly stood up as a mist drifted over the Sunny. “This... Aki! The canisters!”  
> “Yes!”  
> “Nami-san~! Aki-sensei~!” Sanji waltzed out of the galley. “This time I've brought a cold deep-sea crepe for you~! With some champagne... huh? You're asleep...”  
> The cook stopped. “Fog?”  
> He moved for the DenDen Mushi, but fell before he could ever reach it...  
> “Four humans and one humanoid iron man,” one of the few uninvited boarding members in a hazard suit reported. “Ad one pet... tie them all up.”  
> “Roger!”  
> “They're pirates, how ideal... let's present them to M, no one would notice... if some pirates suddenly disappeared...”

It might not amaze anyone, but living on the Grand Line had taught Izayoi Aki some things. Those things chiefly fell into three categories:

_Medicine_.

While the comparatively mediaeval medical standards of this world was severely lacking, Aki had spent about a year with _Médecines Sans Frontières_ before. Tough conditions were hardly untreatable, and the biodiversity of each island was like a miniature biosphere unto its own.

_Yusei_.

There might be hardly any consistency in their lives, and Yusei was not the type to speak his mind freely. The handyman might not speak much, but it made him good as a sounding board and convenient to talk to. On the few times that they – Aki, Yusei, and Ace if they wanted to stretch the metaphor to include the fiery equivalent of a recalcitrant two-year-old – had discussions on the topic, it had ended well. Not that everything was sunshine and roses and adventure, but... well.

_Bloodlust_.

There was a part of her that craved danger. Of course, Divine and the Arcadia Movement should have tipped her off, but truly, the thorns of the Black Rose were hardly ever slaked on some days, and the Grand Line was an excuse in ultra-violence waiting to happen. Thorns were easily slaked sometimes; Aki had had to make battle while Ace covered Yusei fixing the Black Bird. Here was a convenient enemy; Aki was angry.

Having been locked in the ship's infirmary had been worse, because Aki had heard people, and when she finally got out, only Brook – to be expected – was left. So Aki channelled what she had learned.

The skeletal musician took the wheel at her behest, and as Sunny sailed the seven seas – not really – Aki assessed resources, made selective gestures, checked medical supplies, and plotted on how to storm the metaphorical castle with a hopefully bloody demise that she could explain as an accident, _really_.

“Aki-sensei!” Brook sang. “We're about to reach! And, may I see your panties~?”

Aki stood on the deck of the ship, the bit closest to the prow where she could see the snow-covered rocky fortress. Overhead, clouds gathered. Unlike the expected laden nimbus that should be forming over snow-covered tundra, these clouds took on a distinctly cyclic air. Thunder rumbled in its heart.

“Chilling flames engulf the entire world.” A gale blew past her, red locks trailing in the sea winds. “Pitch-dark flower, set in bloom!”

Snow flecked with crimson; ice painted in carmine. Vines shattered a passing iceberg, floating obstacles crushed into pieces and left floating in the ocean, still with the roots of plants digging through the cracks.

“Appear now!” Aki's shout of fear, worry, rage and the terror pirates who had newly entered the New World felt, on some level. “Black Rose Dragon!”

Brook stepped back as Black Rose began to make its appearance. “I think it's that time of the month...”

* * *

Despite common thought, people did not just master the ability of shifting from sleep to complete alertness in a split second. Still, that had never deterred Yusei, who had been doing so for as long as he could remember. From what Yeager had mentioned, the late Professor Fudo seemed to be of the same skill-set as well.

Either way, it meant that when Yusei awoke, he could immediately assess the situation that they, as in most of the Straw Hats, had been captured and placed in a cell. The air smelled sterile and processed, unlike the brine-laden deck of the Sunny. It also stank of staleness, of plaster and dust and a multitude of other substances that Yusei would describe as the contents of a home laboratory.

“Someone... released sleeping gas on the ship and carried us here,” Yusei sat up, telling the entire vault's occupants.

“Yeah,” Sanji agreed. “If only I'd noticed it sooner... but at least Aki-sensei managed to escape. How'd you figure it out?”

Yusei pointed towards a slumped shirtless man, still asleep. The orange hat perched on it sat askew. “He only sleeps like that when he's gassed.”

“He's _still_ sleeping?!” Sanji raged.

“Will we be sold?!” Chopper whined. “Are we kidnapped?!”

“Where the hell are we?!” Franky joined in. “Speaking of which... where's Brook and Aki?!”

“Who would kidnap a skeleton?!”

“You're not human either!” Franky shot back.

“Nor are you! Enough!” Nami yelled. “Yusei, back me up here!”

“...how, Nami-san?” Yusei blinked at the order that descended over the place.

“You look after the emergency food supply, our giant cyborg and that slovenly pile of exploding shit,” Sanji ordered. “I'll devote all my attention to Nami-swan~!!”

“Sanji, Yusei doesn't exist to be ordered!” Nami snapped. “Yusei, stand up for yourself sometimes!”

“...yes, Nami-san!” Yusei replied a tad too late to be convincing.

“Don't worry,” Yusei,” Franky smirked. “The Two-out-of-Three Engineers can solve this! So, it looks like we're stuck.”

“Looks like a vault,” Yusei thoughtfully voiced. “But, since we haven't all suffocated, I can assume that air is consistently pumped into this chamber. Even so, with Ace-san in the room we should have... what is that?”

“What d'you mean that?!” the piece of flesh Yusei was looking at snarled.

Sanji, Franky and Chopper gathered around it. “What is this?” the cook was the first to speak.

“A new type of DenDen Mushi?” Franky suggested.

“There's eight of them...” Chopper whimpered.

“Eyes,” Yusei pointed, awkwardly piking up the pieces to assemble together. “Ears, nose, mouth... head...”

“Is it like this?” Franky reached out and moved the chin and one eye. “Hey, it does look like a face!”

“Erm no!” the head replied.

“Like this?” Sanji sniggered.

“Oh, that's like it!” Franky agreed.

“Lemme try!” Chopper eagerly reached forward.

“Hey... don't play with people's faces!”

“And that's the last part,” Yusei put the chin back. “...it's a severed head!”

“Well, that felt much better!” the definitely masculine head that sounded a bit like a Japanese Napoleon announced. “You have my gratitude!”

“ _The severed head spoke!_ ”

“You're slow!” the head bellowed.

Somehow, Chopper managed to produce a cross. “Why are you alive? Are you possessed?”

“I do not know!” the head, now bearing a lovely topknot, bellowed. “I did not wish to be reduced to a head.”

“Please tell us,” Yusei asked.

The samurai head studied Yusei, apparently finding him worthy of imparting grave knowledge. “That bastard used some kind of weird magic. I expected to die when I was cut, but to be reduced to this state... to be cut but kept alive is a warrior's dishonour!”

Slowly, Yusei stepped back. “I think Zoro-san might agree.”

“I think that _marimo_ found a compatriot,” Sanji agreed. “It still doesn't solve the main problem... where are we?”


	17. XVI: Eisbahn

 

Yusei twitched his fingers when the severed head insulted Nami. ****

The soles of his boots slammed onto the metal. He eyed the bouncing head. “As a proud warrior, respect towards women is an absolute necessity. Apologise.”

Silence fell over the rest of the crew as the samurai found the tiled floor of their mutual prison very interesting. “...Sorry.”

“Very good,” Yusei settled back down. “Nami-san?”

“It's alright, Yusei,” Nami blinked.

“Good job,” Sanji commented, in a rare moment of appreciation.

“It's nothing, Sanji-san.”

“Anyway...?” the samurai finally spoke after a long bout of Yusei's stone-faced silence. “I didn't know that women from other countries wore only a breast-band... I like it.”

“Pervert!” Sanji kicked the head into a wall.

“Don't call it a breast-band!” Nami hollered at the talking severed head. “This is fashion!”

“Either way, who are you?” the head demanded, still attempting a tough front. “I heard you were taken from a ship.”

“We're pirates,” Sanji professed.

“So you are pirates!” the samurai's head raged. “Small wonder your ways are so barbaric! I hate pirates!”

The tension had ratcheted up, Yusei reflected, looking at the still-snoring Ace. Someone who hated pirates, in the midst of many pirates. He felt around; they were in a vault.

“I even thought that reliable man was different, but I see that you're all two-faced deceivers now!” the head was yelling. “I was thinking about escaping with you since we met on this island of ice by chance! Too bad you're all pirates!”

A frown was appearing on Ace's brow, and Yusei slowly started to edge away.

“Hold on, this island of ice?” Franky looked over the sudden tension befallen within the cell. “I thought this was a burning island of fire!”

“What's more impressive is that this stupid big brother can manage to sleep the whole time away,” Nami crossed her arms, looking back towards Ace. “This could make sense.”

She turned back to the head. “You said that this is an island of ice, right? Did you hear a volcano erupt?”

“...I did hear some manner of noise from time to time, but I know nothing of what you speak of,” the samurai admitted. “I entered this island through a half-frozen sea! Now cease that prattle, pirate!”

“I knew it,” Nami declared. “So the island has a cold side... so they took us to the other side of the island! We need to get out of here, and then find who took us and why.”

“Oi, Yusei,” Sanji advised. “Can you wake up the other monster? We need to break out.”

“He'll be sleeping like the dead until he wakes up,” Yusei commented, yawning slightly. “Furthermore, if we get Ace-san to burn down the door, he'll burn out all our oxygen and then we'll suffocate to death first.”

“You're learning from Robin, aren't you?” Franky accused, stretching.

“If we had a laser cutter, maybe it'll work,” Yusei crossed his arms.

“Move!” Franky held up his arms, hands looped together. “My tanks are filled to the max!”

“Whooa!” Sanji and Nami quickly dived out of the way.

“What?” Ace sat up.

“FRANKKKY... RADICAL BEAM!!!!!!”

“Franky-san... exactly what did you do to yourself...?” Yusei stared at the melted door as steam billowed out from where the metal portal had been blasted to hit the wall opposite. “A carbon dioxide laser...?”

“ _Awesome_!” Ace shouted, his eyes glinting like Chopper's own.

“Huh,” Sanji commented, at a loss for words. “You don't have that bizarre body for nothing.”

“I wanna shoot a beam like that too!” Chopper pleaded.

“Yusei, you know what this is?” Franky asked the Straw-Hat handyman.

“We used them for many things in my world,” Yusei confirmed as he clambered out after Nami, Chopper and Franky. “But, at that sort of output, you have to use gold mirrors as an optical resonator.”

“Gold!?” Nami exclaimed. “Franky, you better not steal my money!”

“I think, given enough time we could make a portable version,” Yusei mused. “Ace-san?”

“It's this guy, Yusei,” The older D held up the severed head, who bore an uneasy expression, pulling at the topknot to rearrange the features. “He's just a severed head, can't even run away... right, samurai of the Wa?”

“He's the samurai?!” Chopper demanded.

“Yeah, I visited the place sometime ago,” Ace reflected. “Learned to fix and make hats there. Well, he's not gonna escape on his own like this, so let's bring him along.”

“Leave me be, pirate!” the samurai bellowed.

“Hold on, Ace-kun,” Nami complained as Ace stepped out, swinging the head by the topknot. “What are you thinking?!”

“It's so cool, a talking head,” Ace cheerfully reflected. “Luffy might be happy.”

Nami slapped him upside the head. “I didn't mean that literally, idiot! We came here by following a distress signal from that guy's victims!”

Sanji blew a plume of smoke carefully. “Guards are coming,” he advised.

“Ace, Sanji, let's leave the scary samurai here,” Chopper pleaded.

Yusei said nothing, simply watching the ceiling.

“...I don't cut people if it disgraces me,” the samurai admitted at last, albeit with clenched teeth. “I came to this island to rescue my son! Those who stand in my way, I'll cut down!”

“Well, that settles it,” Ace cheerfully remarked, breaking what would have been a thousand-mile deep stare between the openly perverted cook and the closeted pervert samurai. “Let's go.”

“You're bringing him along?!” Chopper complained as the Straw Hats started running.

“Don't worry, he'll take responsibility,” Ace pointed to Sanji.

“What? Don't push him to me, you idiot bro-con!” Sanji raged as they ran down the hallway and away from a hail of bullets which Franky answered with a Weapons Left. “Take responsibility for your own- oi, are you listening to me?!”

“Both of you watch him!” Nami ordered.

“Yes, Nami-swan~!”

“It's damn cool,” Ace proclaimed. “Luffy would like a present. After all, I missed about one, two... three, four birthdays! I'm a horrible older brother...”

“Are you seriously depressed over that?!” Sanji yelled at the Fire Fist. “Yusei, you're in charge of this guy. Fix him!”

“Sanji-san... there is no tool in the world that can fix a serious brother complex,” Yusei confessed honestly. “Besides, people are shooting at us!”

* * *

“What, Nami and the others are gone?” Usopp was yelling at the DenDen Mushi, standing on burning ground at the burning part of the island. “You guys woke up in snow and ice? Are you and Aki alone?”

“ _Yohoho, that's quite correct!_ ” Brook laughed through the DenDen Mushi. “ _Well, Aki-s_ _ensei_ _was locked in the infirmary by Yusei, but Yusei couldn't secure the rest._ _As for myself, I was so taken aback I froze like a deer in headlights! Hmm, I mean a deer caught in the bone-lights..._ _oh, never mind!_ _Yohohoho! *_ _cough* excuse me!_ ”

“Who were the people on the Sunny?” Usopp asked. “Were they trying to steal our cargo?”

“ _That's the thing..._ ” the sound of pouring tea echoed in the background static. “ _Aki-sensei_ _was very mad when she got out of the_ _infirmary,_ _but they sound terrified. Even though they're all wearing gas masks, so I can't tell! But I have no eyes! Yohoho!_ ”

“Gas masks? So they released some gas to knock the rest out, and then transported the ship to the other side of the island,” Robin deduced. “Aki managed to escape because of Yusei's timely actions...”

“They're terrified of _Aki_?” Usopp repeated incredulously.

“ _Truth be told..._ ” a rattle of china on china. “ _I'm a little bit scared myself, Usopp-san._ _There are goosebumps crawling on my skin. Oh, wait, I don't have a skin~! Yohohoho~!_ ”

Back on the snow-covered Thousand Sunny, a veritable sea of vines had erupted. The men in the gas masks were currently facing the oceans, suspended over the currents by the vines of a plant-monster, obediently bent to the will of a scarlet witch.

“Well, then,” Aki Izayoi pronounced with the dreadful calm and certainty that, if the One Piece world knew, would make her a rival of Maleficent. “Who are you? Where is everyone else?”

“Spare us, please!” one of them yelled.

“Idiot! Master will kill us first if we talk!”

“Master?” the vines dipped. “Yusei is no longer here. Do I give a care as to what your master wants?!”

“The scariest thing in the universe,” Brook commented, sipping his tea, “is love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a foreshadowing chapter, so sorry it's so short...


	18. XVII: Surface

 

In the midst of an icy wasteland, a flower garden was blooming. ****

“Aki-san, Robin-san said that they're on their way here already,” Brook persuaded. “The others are surely in that building as well...”

“I know, Brook-san,” Aki confessed, eyeing the building. “I just... can't get used to it. Now we're in the New World, and somehow... I can't help but worry about Yusei. No matter how many Duel Monsters we summon, how many spells or traps set, how good Yusei is at planning... in a Duel, I have the will to fight, but there are so many ways Yusei can come into danger even by accident. And then if I think he's in danger...”

“Yusei-kun is a good man,” Brook persuaded. “He chose to follow Luffy-san into Marineford to rescue Ace-san. Aki-san... he chose to do this.”

“I wish he'd think of his own life more often,” Aki commented. “He could have escaped the gas as well, and he could have realised it earlier... he could have done so many things...! Of course, I'm the better summoner of monsters, but Yusei is in the wrong as well, for not being alert enough...!”

“Is she blaming Yusei-kun for getting captured, or blaming herself for not realising it earlier?” Brook would have blinked, if he had eyes. “To charge the building looks like suicide, Aki-sensei.”

“It's the island's fault,” Aki declared.

“She ignored me!” Brook threw up his hands in shock. “Skull Shock! My heart is broken! Oh, wait, but I have no heart...”

“This is my Black Garden,” Aki commented as black roses on the vines bloomed. “Every garden has its watcher, and its mistress. I am its mistress.”

Perhaps there was an answer. Perhaps there wasn't. It sure looked like there was.

“Aki-sensei, please calm down... the garden is moving!” Brook screamed. “Aren't you cold, Aki-sensei?”

“I'm burning... with rage,” Aki simply answered.

Within the Black Garden, a walking torso clothed in what looked like a _kosode_ became restricted in the vines and began chopping wildly.

* * *

“Alright, then you move your thumb here – Ace-san, don't set it on fire – and then slide it along as you get it out, and done,” Yusei held up the Soldier's Bed string figure to a horde of semi-gigantic children. “That's how you play Cat's Cradle.”

“That's awesome, reliable big-bro!” they clapped.

“Still,” Nami sighed, “is this the island's day-care or something?”

“They're huge, maybe they're giants,” Sanji suggested, pushing away a kid poking at his eyebrows.

“But there are not-so-big ones too,” Nami commented. “And they're obsessed with Franky and Chopper and Sanji's eyebrows.”

“I'm a reindeer, dammit!” Chopper screamed as he ran from a horde of screaming girls.

“Super!” a few of the boys were copying Franky's manner.

“I can freely change my hairstyle!” Franky shouted to nobody in particular, moving from a stick to angel wings to an afro. “Look at my extra hands! I have twenty fingers!”

“You're not the one whose fingers are being kidnapped for this!” Ace raged, his fingers having been bunched up in a Candles figure. “You, get here and take over!”

“Oi, children!” the head started bellowing. “Have you seen a child named Momonosuke?!”

Silence fell over the laughing nursery.

“He's a boy!” the head continued obliviously.

“EEEEHHH?!” the children started to run away. “ _Run_!”

“Wait,” Sanji called. “At least tell me about this-”

“ _Wait_!” the samurai's head echoed.

“You shut up!” Sanji retorted. “We can't get any information from them like this!”

“You're scaring them!” Nami lectured.

“I don't think they're interested in the game anymore,” Yusei commented, pocketing the string.

“What gave that away, genius?” Ace sarcastically commented. “The guards coming, or them running?”

“Let's run to the back,” Franky said, picking up Chopper in one hand. As the Strawhats – and Ace – started running after the kids, a few more of the giant children followed them.

“What the hell is this facility?” Sanji called after the retreating children. “Tell me!”

“I'm looking for a boy named Momonosuke!” the head added.

“NNNYYYYAAAHH!!!” The boys ran even faster.

Nami slapped him. “You shut up!”

“I got hit by a woman!” he started complaining. “This is most dishonourable! I should... commit suicide!”

“Go ahead!” Nami hollered. “Just shut up, you male chauvinist!”

“But, they're protecting the kids,” Yusei observed. “By extension, us.

“Say, Robot-san,” a giant blonde boy in a white smock ran up to ask. “Did you come from outside the island?”

“'Course!” Franky happily answered. “Though I'm a cyborg, little guy-”

“Do you have a ship?”

“Of course! Our ship – the Sunny – is the best-”

“Then help us!” the boy demanded. “Help us! Please!”

“This...” Yusei sniffed. “Chopper-san, do you smell anything chemical around?”

“Chemical?” Chopper sniffed the air. “It smells like... cat urine?”

“Yusei, why is this relevant?” Nami demanded.

“This world doesn't have chemical cleaners yet,” Yusei mumbled to himself. “Even the Sunny's infirmary is scrubbed with carbolic soap. Someone went to great lengths to secure these children-”

“O-nee-chan!” a brunette girl was marching behind them now. “You have to help us! Please!”

“Then, this isn't a day-care?” Chopper asked.

Yusei opened his mouth to add-

“We're not sick anymore!” another boy added. “We're all fine! Take us out of here!”

Nami shut her eyes, resolving her expression as the Strawhat pirates ran onwards.

“Sick?” Chopper was repeating to himself.

“That would explain the white clothes they're wearing,” Yusei considered. “And the smell of disinfectant too...”

“That wasn't disinfectant!” Chopper protested.

“In my world, we used chlorine bleach to sterilise objects,” Yusei frowned. “But, chlorine extraction without an industry behind it means that this facility must produce its own chlorine gas somehow. What's the link... this link is important...”

“We just want to go home!” the brunette girl was yelling.

“Sorry, we're being chased right now!” Nami shouted back.

“Out of the way, little ones!” one of the guards called in their sugary sweet voices.

“What's going on?” Chopper protested atop Franky's shoulder. “Oi, let's take them along!”

“Idiot!” Franky scolded, bursting into quiet tears. “We don't even know how to save ourselves! There's no way we can take that many kids! But what's this? I gotta feeling, something tragic's gonna happen...!”

_Kids... children...this is expensive cleaner, isn't it? Caustic too..._

Yusei couldn't have guessed what happened, but then the girl's cry brought him out of the link.

“ _Then... Come back for us later, okay?!_ ”

Ahead of Yusei, Nami's footsteps had already begun to slow.

“ _I know! Even if I’ve never been outside the building!_ _There's nothing on this island, right?_ _No towns, and no people!_ _That's why n_ _obody's ever going to come for us! I want to see Daddy and Mummy again!_ _O-nee-chan, come back! Come help us later!_ ”

Yusei stopped as one of the presumably giant babies started crying.

“Nami-san, hurry!” Sanji called. “Oi, Yusei, what are you doing?”

“You, what are you-” Ace stopped speaking at his expression. “Ah. Yusei. If you pull a Shooting Star here...”

Nami turned around at last, her expression firming. “Let's... save these children!”

“What are you doing, Nami-san?!” Sanji doubled back. “We don't have a reason to do that? They said themselves that they were sick, so this could be a hospital for all we know of! We've only just met these children, and we don't know who they are! We're not a charity!”

“I understand what you're saying, but...” Nami turned back to face the other Strawhats. “... _I can't turn my back on a child crying for help!_ ”

“Nee-chan!” the girl cried. The baby held by one of the other giant children had calmed down at last.

Sanji quietly jammed an unlit cigarette into his mouth.

“Yusei? Oi, oi, this isn't even funny-”

“ _They'll get away if we do nothing!”_

“ _The brats are in the way! Just shoot!”_

“ _But the Master-”_

“ _Better than letting them go!_ ” one of the guards in airtight suits held up a musket.

“Shit-” Ace was about to push the handyman out of the way before he took action.

“Scrubbed Raid!” Several muskets broke down just as a giant flame arose behind him. From the plume of flame, Sanji descended with one leg afire to hit a guard. “ _Diable Jambe: Collier Strike!_ ”

“Sorry, Nami-san,” Yusei commented. “If you ordered us to run, I don't think I can.”

“Eh, that's fine...”

Chopper transformed, taking out three men with Kung Fu Point. Ace barely winced as Franky's new-and-improved Strong Right – with 'Strong' certified – trailing on a chain.

“Raccoon!” “Rocket punch!” the children celebrated. “That guy's on fire!”

“These guys...” that guards started to regroup, “... stopped running!”

“Ah, she's kind to kids,” Sanji commented. “She's only kind to kids, but a kind Nami-san is beautiful like this. I'm falling even more.”

Sanji blew a ring of hearts from his cigarette. “Chopper, Yusei, Ace, follow Nami-san.”

“Ah!” Chopper flipped back.

“Listen up, brats!” Sanji yelled, facing the guards. “Follow the pretty older sister and the kung-fu raccoon. We'll take care of these punks! But don't get me wrong. I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for the sake of Nami-san! If anything, I hate you all because Nami-san cares about you guys so much!”

“Thank you, Spiral-bro!” one of the kids shouted.

“Shut up, brat! Just run already!”

“'Kay, let's go!” Chopper called.

“Everyone, follow me!” Nami shouted. “Yusei, Ace, take up the rear!”

“Hane!” Yusei called, as pixels seemed to shudder at his feet.

“Yes, Yusei-dono!” the pink Sonic Chick chirped as she came into being.

“I need you to tag along Nami-san in this experimental facility,” Yusei ordered. “Let's rev it up!”

* * *

The sight of rose petals floating in the wind was enough for Marine Vice-Admiral Smoker to draw back. “Be very careful,” he said absently, fingering his _j_ _i_ _tte_. “The Black Rose Witch is here.”

“What, Vice-Admiral?” Tashigi demanded. “One of the two mysterious new members of the Strawhat crew? So, Strawhat himself is on the island?”

“Who knows,” Smoker commented. “But if that monstrous woman is here, then the Shooting Star and Fire Fist is here too.”

“Hey, Vice-Admiral! Is it true that Shooting Star can grant any wish?”

“Shut up!” Smoker smashed one of the Marines who talked into the deck. “This is classified intelligence, but Shooting Star raising a dead Fire Fist from the dead has made a lot of people nervous. Not to mention they can negate Devil Fruit abilities and summon dragons... For them to be here... what the hell is going on?”

Far away, a certain newly-minted Shichibukai with the epithet 'Surgeon of Death' caught sight of the dark rose petals, and heard the rustle of growing plants and the roar of a dragon. If anyone could see him, they would have seen several micro-expressions fly across his face at that moment. Reluctant fear, elation, consideration, satisfaction, and then resolve warred across his furrowed brow, in the set of his jaw and in how he inclined his hat as he adjusted his collar.

“Where the Black Rose Witch is, the Shooting Star will be,” Trafalgar Law hissed, his breath steaming in his face with the blizzard howling even next to the sea he was standing by. “The power of miracles... but I need to remove the Marines first...”

In the background, overlooked by everyone, they trudged. Towards the main building on the wasteland of Punk Hazard, two cloaked figures in white were complaining. One lugged what looked like a mechanical arm set on fire. The other lugged what looked like a half-frozen mechanical arm. Both were arguing.

“I told you not to create them, but _no_ , they've got to be complements!”

“This island was rich in power! It's an experiment in how Devil Fruits work! _You're_ the one who set them loose with that Golden Apple! So now we got a Malus Token running around this Ra-forsaken world!”

“Don't blame me! We've got part of your creative power running amok in this world that they told us not to! Yami and Bakura might actually unite to string us up!”

“They'll unite to string _you_ up, you clone of me, Marik!”

“Oh, we're on to names, original? _Malik_? That's _cold~_ ”

“What's _cold_ is this Horus-cursed island and this Ice and Fire Hand we just created from it. What do we do now, dammit? If we bring them back, the others'll find out, and then it's open season on us! I hate winter!”

“They can't kill us, original. We're immortal.”

“You wanna challenge _Bakura_ with that? White hair, prone to murder as you, can actually keep up with your crazy pain-play and torture you? There's another Duelist on this island, right?”

“Yeah, but Yuugi said-”

“He said that _you_ can't approach him, facsimile,” Malik Ishtar reflected, looking at the Fire Hand he was toting around. “Well, we might as well offload them onto him if we're going to get the Apple you fucking dropped onto this world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This is a comment on oniwabanshi, a term from feudal Japan concerning ninja warriors, literally 'the watchers of the garden'.
> 
> As for the smell that Yusei considered, remember that the YGO world and the One Piece world are at different levels of technological development. What we call disinfectant is chlorine bleach and Triclosan. What they call the smell of disinfectant – and it's a recent thing, probably – is the smell of carbolic soap, something like tar – which was invented in 1834 from a tar derivative. Very loose and different standards of sanitation and hygiene applies, especially in a pre-industrial age of technological development as outlined in the One Piece world. It is also a technologically advanced process, which is the link right there.
> 
> It's moments like reviewing the Punk Hazard arc to outline all of these that I realise how lucky we all are sometimes, that there are things like disinfectants that probably save people from dying of infections that set in.
> 
> Please review!


	19. XVIII: Fish and Chips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I went to find my old page on Tv Tropes for Restructer Revolution... where is it...? There's only my CMOA moment left... *sob*  
> – LLS

 

“What is that, Aki-sensei?” Brook commented as the pair of them ran after what looked like a human torso wielding a pair of swords. ****

“It looks like a Zombie-type monster,” Aki drew a card. “Fallen Angel of Roses, I summon you!”

The black-armoured winged sorceress appeared, wielding a sharp thorned whip to defend Aki. “We have to catch that...”

“I don't quite know what's going on, but if you say so...!” Brook dived to engage the running samurai. “Then, what about your garden?”

“I'll be fine,” Aki panted, watching her Duel Pad. “Black Garden will secure the Sunny. I am sure, too, that the Sunny will be waiting for us. But, it's rather cold... where are the rest? Will we be able to find them?”

* * *

“This way, kids!” Chopper yelled, still in Kung Fu Point and heading the roar of screaming children. “Run if you wanna get away!”

“You're very excited about this, Chopper-san!” Yusei called.

“Of course!” Chopper yelled. “Sanji entrusted me with this important mission of protecting the kids and getting them out of there! I'll do it!”

“Chopper-san, your eyes are on fire...” Yusei twitched as something thudded behind him. “Ace-san, please don't sleep now!”

“ _He fell asleep?!_ ” everyone except Yusei shouted.

“IS THIS TIME TO SLEEP, QUACK?!” Hane's squawk echoed through the hall.

Nami blinked as a body thumped and Ace rolled forward ahead of them. “Wha-”

Rubber squeaked as the Sonic Chick rushed ahead by running on the walls. “You... idiot!” Ace was sent flying again with a powerful kick from a red-booted leg.

“Hane... you're actually secretly quite strong,” Yusei blinked.

“No,” Hane ran alongside her. “I can't attack, I can only defend. I just pushed the guy ahead, quack. But, his tenacity is something out of this universe... he's still asleep, quack.”

“He's _still_ asleep!” the children yelled.

“Wazu! Kazu! OOOOO-!” Chopper beat up a few more guards, and then Ace started smoking on his body as he arose.

“Ah, that was a good nap...”

Nami was even more impressive, being able to clock a Logia user with her fist. “Get them, dammit!”

“ _Itai_... _Hiiken!”_ Ace took out a few more. “Yusei, you let that psycho duck out?!”

“You're amazing, raccoon-bro! Reliable-bro! Fire-bro!”

“I'm not a raccoon – I'm a reindeer! Hi-yah!”

Nami chuckled. “But, you look like a raccoon now.”

“...! It's true!”

“Where should we go, Nami-san?” Yusei asked.

“That's something you need to figure out, wacchaa!” Chopper added.

Nami sighed.

“Are we going to be okay, O-nee-chan?” the girl asked.

“Of course!” Nami assured, smiling. “We've been through situations like this lots of times! Plus, we've got the most reliable man on the Grand Line here with us today! So just relax and follow us!”

Nami's encouragement brought smiles to their faces, and everyone seemed to run with a renewed spirit.

“Yusei, what do you think?” Nami asked.

“This is a highly advanced scientific facility,” Yusei commented. “Highly guarded, possibly surveyed, and kept a secret, especially on this island that was recently ripped apart by two Marine Admirals... I need to confirm something.”

He turned towards the running giant companions. “You said 'we're not sick anymore' earlier, right?”

“Uh huh...”

“What kind of sickness did you have? None of you look sick.”

“I don't think so either,” Chopper added.

“I don't know,” the boy shrugged, panting. “They told us that we were sick and we'd get better in a year... our Mummies and Daddies asked some people to bring us here for treatment...”

“Your parents just told you to follow these people?” Nami demanded.

“No... the people were waiting for us right outside our houses and brought us straight here,” the boy answered through heavy breaths. “They said we couldn't see our parents in case they got sick too. We didn't even get to say goodbye...”

“That's what happened to all of you?” Nami started frowning as the affirmative replies came in. “Yusei, I understand your point.”

“Some stranger took them here without letting them see their parents?” Chopper asked. “That could only mean... the disease is really dangerous?!”

“Are you an idiot?!” Nami slapped the doctor upside the head. “And, it's been more than a year since then! Chopper, you should give them a proper diagnosis later, then we'll know for sure.”

“All right!”

“Door ahead!” Yusei called, even as Ace rushed ahead in a blaze of flame. “Is it locked?”

“Not anymore!” Ace grinned. “ _Shinka: Shiranui!_ ”

The lance burst through, enveloping the door until it became a mass of steaming metal. At the same time, the sprinkler system activated.

“Both brothers are idiots, but this one shouldn't an excuse...” Nami shivered. “Let's go- It's cold! Chopper, can I borrow your fur?”

“Sure- I mean, no way!” Chopper slapped at the air.

“What is this place?” Yusei commented. “Outside? Or a freezer? It's too dark to see anything- oh, I have a flash-light.”

“What the hell do you keep in that tool-belt, Yusei...”

“It's perfect for me,” Chopper happily commented.

“Yeah, but you're from a Winter Island,” Nami rebutted, stepping forward carefully. “It's dark and I can't- there's a door!”

“Really?” Yusei cocked his heard forward. “Ace-san, can you-”

“ _Hotarubi,”_ Ace commented, watching thousands of tiny spheres of lght fly forth to light the way.

“ _Kyaa_!” the brunette girl screamed. “I don't wanna go there! It's too scary!”

“Huh?” Nami turned back. “What's wrong?”

“We came through this way when we first arrived!” the girl explained.

“Really?” Nami exclaimed. “Then it must lead to an exit! I know it's cold, but hang on! Come on!”

“No! Because... all around...”

“All around?” Ace echoed, as the firefly lights floated all around to cast heat and warmth towards the hallways. “There's something in the walls...”

Nami and Chopper started screaming as the light cast the dead eyes and listless expressions of several human-shaped corpses in relief. “What is all this? It's full of frozen people! It's too scary!!!”

“W- What are... these... f- frozen corpses...” Nami stuttered, looking around. “Above and below as well...?”

Nami and Chopper held onto each other, panicking. “N- N- NNNNOOOOOOO!!!”

“Wait, O-nee-chan! Don't leave us!”

“This is most definitely a sort of morgue,” Yusei observed. “These clothes are prisoner uniforms, right, Ace-san?”

“Yeah...” Ace yawned. “What do you think?”

“Biological experimentation, like back on Thriller Bark,” Yusei noted, pocketing his torch. “Punk Hazard was once a Marine laboratory facility, but then something occurred, hence the Admirals chose this place as their battlefield. This morgue looked relatively pristine, so none of the bodies have been moved. In fact... they look like they've been here for a long time. There are big people, and not-so-big people present as well... we've got to get them out of here, Hane, Ace-san. First, though, we've got to find Nami-san and Chopper-san.”

“...Yusei-dono is angry,” Hane confessed, watching the Duelists walk down to follow the others.

“For the sake of others,” Ace commented as the firefly lights exploded softly behind him. “Your master is too selfless to be a pirate, psycho duck. Maybe as a priest or a monk... but that might not even satisfy him. For in his heart lies something far worse than just desire or hunger...”

They ran, all the way towards a different exit and down flights of stairs with the children, all around until Yusei was forcibly reminded of that TV series with a lot of running.

“Look! A door! We can get out!”

“Yeah!”

“Wachaa!~” Chopper made a Dynamic Entry kick. “I made it out!”

“Outside- it's freezing!” Nami shivered.

“ _We made it!”_

“I made it out! I can go home!”

“ _I can see my dad and mum again!_ ”

“Get out of my way!”

The assembled Marines of the base G5, Vice-Admiral Smoker and newly appointed Shichibukai Trafalgar Law watched as the Franky Tank made its appearance.

“ _I'm kind of sweet – Franky Tank! Yosh, here we go! One, two, three... SUPER!_ ”

“Yusei, how did you control that idiot big-brother?” Nami commented as Ace joined the mass Super-posing.

“I try not to think about it,” Yusei was taking off his jacket before a lovestruck Sanji came in with his own suit-jacket. “Nami-swan~! I'm glad you're alright~! I like the way you shiver in the wind but I don't want to let you catch a cold, so here's my jacket~!”

“Thanks, Sanji-kun!” Nami put it on before turning around. “Ah, you look familiar!”

“Yeah, he was at Sabaody!” Chopper added.

“Oh, it's Law-san,” Yusei greeted.

Law's expression morphed. It might have read either ' _Thank god a bastion of sanity has appeared_ ' or ' _what the hell is going on?'_. Either expression looked perfectly valid.

“Could it be, the one who locked up these kids is you?” Nami accused him. “You brute! You can't take them back!”

“Oh, shit!” Sanji accused, still holding the samurai head. “I was wondering who are you! Smoker! And cutie~! Not good, the Navy's here! We can't escape from here! Let's look for another exit! Get inside!”

“This way!” Yusei called to the kids. “Follow me! There should be a back-door!”

“Why would the Navy be here?” Nami complained.

“I don't know, just run!” Sanji retorted.

“But I thought the Navy were good guys...” one of the children commented.

“Why don't you go to them, then?” Sanji snapped.

“Don't wanna! They look like Yakuza!”

“A new Shichibukai, the members of the nearest Marine base, genetic experimentation, what is going on?” Yusei muttered, running ahead. None of them noticed Law lifting his _nodachi_...

* * *

“Robin-san and the rest of them!” Aki exclaimed from the top of a snowdrift. “Night Rose Knight, go!”

“I'll go!” Brook jumped, freezing the gun barrels of the centaur horde with his sword. “The thing colder than a freezing blizzard... that's the wind of the Underworld. Yohohohoho!”

“Who are you?” the brown-bearded chief demanded.

“My name is not worth mentioning. It's Brook.”

“You just mentioned it...-.-”

“I'm a skeleton who came back from the dead and put my second life with the Captain of the Strawhat Pirates!” Brook brandished his sword. “People call me Soul King!”

“Fallen Angel, attack!” Aki ordered, as the fallen angel descended to wreck havoc from the skies.

“But, you're too late!” the boss centaur boasted. “They've already become shark food! Look for yourselves.”

He looked, and...

“Oh, the sharks got beat up,” Aki commented, before her expression sharpened to draw another card. “Past Life activate! Appear, Black Rose Dragon!”

“A- A Dragon!” the boss yelped. “But... it doesn't look like the rest on the island, and... where are they?”

“We're _here_!!!”

Luffy's voice echoed, and Aki started to look bored as she spotted them walking up.

“You're just in time, Brook,” Robin airily said.

“Yohohoho! I'm glad you're okay!” Brook laughed. “We were chasing a strange thing and happened to come this far.”

“You've really done it this time, you part-human-part animals!” Zoro snarled. “But if you think we'll be done in by a few sharks, you've got another thing coming!”

The blizzard cleared, enough to see the four others frozen and shivering, and still very scary.

“But no matter... how strong we are... we can't stand the cold!”

“ _I- It's freezing! I'm gonna turn into ice!_ ” Luffy chattered.

“ _I_ rold _you guys... we can't_ hust _go to the cold_ shide _like this..._ ” Usopp's gibber was half-intelligible.

“But look...” Robin shivered. “We're lucky. We should be glad to have met them...”

“Boss! They're closing in on us!” one of the centaurs yelled.

“They look familiar...” the boss muttered.

“Yes, Robin-san...” Aki grinned. “I'll take that other girl on the right.”

“I'll take the fourth on the right.” “I'll take the one next to him.” “I'll take the girl on the far left.”

“What are they talking about...” Black Rose Dragon's tentacles snaked about, trapping most of the armed centaur horde in its circle, and the question was answered quickly:

“ _Their clothes look warm!_ ” Bearing demonic expressions, the strongest five Strawhats about declared.

Usopp chattered. “ _All right... flease ket me one, too...!_ ”

The boss's eyes widened. “I remember now... that dragon... that hat... he's that rookie of the Worst Generation from two years ago!”

“ _What_?”

“Fire Fist's brother... a pirate with a four hundred million Beli bounty... Straw Hat Luffy!”

“EEEEHHHH!!!”

“And that dragon... one of the two who stormed Marineford with him, the Black Rose Witch, Izayoi Aki!”

“Oh, my friends,” Brook cheerfully commentated as four pirates and one dragon started to wreck the armed centaur horde. “You're in better shape than I thought!”

* * *

“Let's take a role call,” Yusei declared. “Chopper-san?”

“I'm here!” Sanji stepped forth.

“Franky-san!”

“Yeah!” Chopper stepped up.

“Sanji-san?”

A large fist twitched as Nami stepped up, hearts in her eyes and the dinner-jacket made for Sanji half-unbuttoned. “Yes?”

“Nami-san?”

“At least we have a reliable man...” Nami commented. “Unlike Yusei...”

“Ace-san.”

“So this is your body, Yusei,” black eyes twinkled as gloved hands cracked their knuckles. “You're actually pretty fit.”

“I'm Yusei, Nami-san,” Yusei crossed arms bearing tattoos as he watched his own self sleep and crossed his arms. “And that is Ace-san. More than that, it looks like we've been switched between our bodies. So, Nami-san is in Franky-san's body, Franky-san is in Chopper-san's body, Chopper-san is in Sanji-san's body, Sanji-san is in Nami-san's body, Ace-san is in my body... and I'm in Ace-san's body.”

“ _What the hell is going on??!_ ” the other five pirates still awake exclaimed.

“-.-; I just told you what's going on...”

“Stop that!” Franky made an X with his hands. “Stop that poker face! It's even more scary on Ace's face!”

“Y- Yusei-dono?” Hane gaped, stunned.

“It's true!” Ace shouted with an accusative finger.

“It could be Trafalgar Law's Ope Ope ability,” Yusei observed. “Besides physical stuff, I suppose even non-physical stuff can be switched. Hane, is the ability to access my deck physically based?”

“No!” Hane screeched. “T- The link of a Duelist to their deck is based in the heart... but, I don't know if you would be injured if anything happens to your original body...”

Yusei drew a deep breath, watching a flame erupt as he blew. “The Mera Mera ability is emotion-based, I suppose... I can't handle cards in this state, so I can't even try restoring us.”

“Cards?” Nami blinked. “Oh, right! Yusei is always so reliable, I forgot he has that miraculous ability to summon dragons! Then why didn't you use that?!”

“We were running,” Yusei answered. “I can't deflect something I can't see.”

“Right... sorry...” Nami paused. “But, that means right now, _Ace_ is in _Yusei's_...”

“Right now, we should get out of here,” Yusei commented, looking to the side.

“ _He completely sidestepped that!_ ” all of them screamed.

“Ah... let's go!” Nami ordered.

They made it to a back-door, running up a mountain with the children following them, an almost desperate fervour to their movements. The blizzard raged on, scratching at their faces with nails of icy projectiles, some of which shot through Yusei. Yusei radiated heat enough to cancel the blizzard, but still left it swirling around them; even Ace's incredible fire powers would need some time to effect the weather.

“Right. We got out, what do we do?” Nami complained.

“Even with this strange transformation going on, we have to keep running for now!” Chopper exclaimed, holding onto the samurai's head as he shivered.

“It's super confusing,” Franky commented.

Yusei blew, watching the wisps of flame catch up to his own sleeping body on Franky's back. “I'm heat-resistant, but not cold-resistant. We need to find shelter or clothes soon.”

“B- Bros! We're going to freeze to death!” the children started complaining.

“Deadly freezing cold? I don't give a damn!” Blood started spurting from one nostril. “I don't care about the kids or the samurai or anything!”

“ _EEHHH_?”

“I just need to find a camera!” Sanji salivated. “I've gotta take some pictures before I return to normal!”

“What're you gotta take a picture of?!” Nami snarled. “And stop having nosebleeds in my body!”

“This is more important, Nami!” Franky complained. “Don't button up my aloha shirt!”

“Are you alright?” Chopper demanded to the running kids. “It must be hard on you, but hang in there! I had no idea that human bodies felt this cold-”

“Yusei, can you use the Mera Mera ability to warm everyone?” Nami asked.

“I'm trying, but I could also burn everyone or just make it rain,” Yusei explained, watching the flames erupt in his hands.

“Be careful!” Ace warned. “Make the flames too hot, and we'll all be crispy fried!”

“Eh? It's... getting warmer,” Nami observed. “Right, Yusei, do it like that! Oi, gather around! Ace, you teach Yusei!”

“It's instinctive!”

“No!” Yusei exclaimed, as the fires raged out of control.

The children exchanged expressions as the fires died down.

“Uh, maybe it was a bad idea taking these kids out without a plan,” Franky commented. “Though I can't really feel cold in this body...”

“What do we do?” Chopper pleaded. “The children can't take it anymore.”

“Okay,” Franky drawled. “Let's take this fur and-”

“ _Stop! That's my body!_ ”

“But, Yusei has Ace's fire powers-” Nami suggested.

“This can't... be a permanent solution...” An expression of pain morphed across his face. “At the rate I'm burning, I am going to lose control of these powers. I can't focus long...!”

* * *

“OOOIIII! OOOIII!” Luffy called cheerfully to the dark figure. “It's me! Thanks for your help the other day!”

“Dr Trafalgar!” Aki called. “It's been a while!”

The figure slowly turned his head. “Strawhat-ya... Dr Izayoi-ya...”

“That's... the guy we met at Sabaody,” Zoro recalled.

“Yusei and I met him at Marineford,” Aki added. “Trafalgar Law... he's now-”

“Yeah, Trafal-guy!” Luffy cheered as they got off of Brownbeard. “He helped me get away from the battlefield and helped Aki treat my wounds! OOOII!” Then he took off towards the new Shichibukai.

“I didn't expect to see you here!” Luffy beamed. “Thanks a lot for helping me that time!” Then he blinked. “Huh? Where's the talking bear and the others?”

“...so you made it, Strawhat-ya,” Law glanced towards the red-cloaked doctor nearby as well. “Well, that's to be expected. But you don't have to thank me for that. I did it on a whim. We're both pirates; don't forget that.”

“That's right,” Luffy laughed. “We're all enemies for the fight to One Piece, but I owe so many people for helping me two years ago. I saw Jimbe and now you – I'm lucky! Thanks again!”

“Huh?” Aki cocked her head to the distance. “Usopp-san?”

“Yeah, Aki?”

“Is that a Navy soldier on the ground?” Aki pointed. “Your eyes are better than mine at far sight...”

“Oh no, Luffy! The Navy's here!” Usopp yelled as a horde of Marines came running from the distance.

“Yeah!” Luffy called, watching a cloaked Marine pick up the fallen warrior. “I thought so! It's Smokey and his guys! It's been a while!”

 _What is going on-?_ Aki was jerked out of her reverie when the cloaked Marine started yelling and running towards Law, sword drawn. _Oh no-_

“Aki, don't!” Robin admonished.

“Whoa, whoa,” Law drew his own sword, and Aki relaxed. Even though the cloaked Marine fell before reaching Law after Law did something involving twisting his hands.

“What did he just do...?” Zoro muttered.

“She never learns,” Law commented. “Don't get so serious.”

“Tashigi-chan!” the Marines started running.

“Luffy, let's go!” Usopp called.

“Right!” Luffy turned, exposing his new hind legs. “Oh, right, Trafal-guy. I wanna ask you something.”

Law pointed to the distance. “Go round the back of the laboratory. What you're looking for is there. We'll see each other again later. We both have something we want to take back.”

A pause, even as they started running.

“Right, Luffy,” Usopp called as Luffy pulled himself aboard Brownbeard. “Let's get away from the Marines!”

Luffy chuckled amidst the squeezing of the Strawhats aboard. “I wonder if Smokey and his guys are alright. Did they lose to Trafal-guy?”

“Definitely,” Aki replied, even as the ring of bullets echoed behind them. “This island's weather is bizarre...”

“There you are!” Luffy suddenly exclaimed as the snow tapered off, and Brownbeard was running on flat, half-melted snow.

“OOOIII!” Brook, Luffy and Usopp called.

“Are you all okay?” Brook called.

“Everyone!” Aki waved.

“Why is that idiot cook jumping around?” Zoro drawled. “He went nuts from the cold?”

“I hope not...” Aki murmured. “Usopp-san? There's giant children around...”

“Oh?” Usopp blinked. “They look like giant children to me.”

“Me too...”

“Huh?” Luffy called. “Oi, what-cha doing? Stop it, Franky!”

“Never mind that!” Aki's eyes were wide as she pointed. “Look! Yusei is... laughing!”

* * *

“Trafalgar Law, I'm going to use Rose Tentacles to give you a switch-around... _I'll rearrange your skeletal system!_ ”

“Aki-san is scary!” Brook and Sanji yelled as the Strawhat second doctor seemed to take on a demonic visage, closed into their temporary encampment.

“Alright, let's get it straight from the beginning,” Usopp used a pointer to tap a board and point to the torso-less samurai. “He's the samurai from the Wano Country. The emergency signal was meant for the Alliga-taur who they call 'Boss', from one of his men. It all started when this samurai sliced up all those centaurs.”

Aki's brow furrowed. “A- Yusei.”

“They're fine, Aki,” Ace's face remained calm even as he watched Ace in his own body tackle Luffy in a snowball fight. Inwardly he was counting all the bruises to be anticipated.

“But, I just wanted to rescue my missing son – Momonosuke, and cut those people because they were in my way!” the samurai explained. “In fact, look! That many children were held captive in the facility. I'm sure Momonosuke is still there!”

Some of children were building a giant snowman with the help of Galley-La tools. One of them looked up. “Uh huh, there were more children,” one of them confirmed. “We don't even know the newcomers that well yet.”

“But the problem is what happened after the signal,” Zoro added.

The samurai's face twisted into an expression of contempt. “It's that man we just saw! Everyone was saying that he is a Shichibukai!”

“EEHH?” Luffy burst out of the snowman base. “You mean he became a Shichibukai?!”

“Yes,” Ace crossed his arms, glaring at the gloves on his hands. “He joined them within the past two years. Oi, Yusei, can I take off your jacket?”

“If I get sick I'm coming after you,” Yusei admonished even as Aki's strident “No!” echoed in the Strawhat temporary encampment.

“He chopped me into three pieces before I knew it!” the samurai lamented. “My head was in the facility! My torso left there! And my legs were chased by a beast. When my legs were trying to get away using their wits, they stuck onto something.”

“And that was the back of the dragon's head!” Usopp added.

“Dragon?” Aki and Yusei looked up.

“Not your dragons,” Usopp assured. “But, come to think about it... never mind.”

“Oh yeah, you were cursing about a Shichibukai!” Luffy commented.

“They were just legs, right?” Nami regarded the legs that Luffy had named and cried over and Ace had woken up then. “How did he speak?”

“Oh, that's right,” Zoro noted.

“Oh, that was my farts.” _Phoot_. “It has always been my speciality.” _Phoot_.

“So you were fart-talking?” Usopp held his rather long nose.

“Yes, I was!” _Phoot_.

“Oh,” Luffy grinned. “It smells like when we're in a room.”

“Yohohoho!” Brook agreed.

“Then, that strange thing we saw wasn't a Zombie-type monster,” Aki realised, still holding her nose. “It's his torso!”

“You saw it?” the samurai exclaimed. “Where? Where did you see my torso?!”

“Anyway,” Sanji barged in, hands on hips. “Some guys in hazard suits knocked us out, kidnapped us and put us in a vault with his head. We broke out, found the brats, and led them out, which is where we met Trafalgar Law and a horde of Marines. Then this happened.”

“So, who is who?” Luffy blinked. “Yusei, you're playful today!”

It merited a punch on the temple. “I'm Ace!”

“I'll start,” Franky sighed. “I'm Franky! Don't come to me if you get hurt!”

“I'm Chopper!” Chopper volunteered with Sanji's body. “If you get hurt, I'll treat your wounds!”

“I'm Nami,” she used a large finger to point. “I'd rather die than fire a beam!”

Sanji took the cigarette out of his mouth, blowing a plume of steam. “And we are... Nami-san~!!”

“>_<* Was I ever than shameless...?”

“I won't do it again! Please, don't hurt Nami-san anymore!”

“Don't do it, Nami! You'll kill Nami!”

“If you touch my body, it'll cost you two hundred thousand Beli!” Nami started writing. “Peeping will cost a hundred thousand!”

“How will I survive...?” Sanji lamented.

“I'm Ace,” Ace declared, holding out the Galley-La tool-belt. “Don't tell me to play poker. That's him.”

“I'm Yusei,” Yusei used a tattooed arm to raise his hand. “During these two years, I cleaned out the poker, blackjack and baccarat tables at every casino in Paradise between hunting for monsters. It was very hard.”

“Yusei! What happened to the money?!” Nami roared. “I didn't see a single Beli! The first time that poker face brought you money, and you didn't repay your debt?! What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Ace-san has an appetite to rival Luffy-san!”

“Okay.”

“Nami was pacified!” The Strawhat crew sans Robin, Aki and Yusei shouted.

“Don't blame me, Yusei!” Ace shouted.

“Ace-san, my ears are ringing...” Yusei's brow furrowed, matching Ace's usual scowl. It looked like another headache had descended for the Strawhat handyman, after all.


	20. XIX: Frost and Flame Dragon

“Oh, Brownbeard,” Ace crossed his arms as he faced the alliga-taur, the apparent Boss of the centaur horde.

“Never heard of him~” Luffy sang.

“If it's nothing to do with food, you'd never hear of anything,” Ace commented affectionately. “If I recall, you're that hack who ripped off the Old Man.”

“Uohhohho, so Fire Fist Ace recognises me,” Brownbeard boasted.

“What happened? You don’t have enough power, and a rookie threw you out of Foodvalten?” Ace teased, smirking in a way that made even Yusei's features seem twisted. “The _Grand Line Times_ reported it. It wouldn't even be important if _someone_ didn't insist on getting all the editions each time we entered port.”

“It's helping you now,” Yusei retorted, with barely a hint of expression.

“That face... that facial marker...” Brownbeard's face screwed up. “I don't like the Worst Generation, except for Law, but I remember you... the man who created the Marineford Miracle, Shooting Star – Fudo Yusei!”

“...thank you, Chopper-san,” Yusei stuck the Ace icon onto his own forehead and his facial icon onto Ace's body's forehead. “No, _I'm_ Yusei. He's the Fire Fist. What happened to your legs, Brownbeard-san?”

“Basil Hawkins was the one who shattered my group – the Brownbeard Pirates!” Brownbeard declared. “Thanks to him, I lost my legs and was no longer able to continue my life of piracy...! My whole crew devastated, I fled for my life, and this place, Punk Hazard, was where I ended up! Do you even realise what this place is?”

“This is the place where the Admirals Aokiji and Akainu fought a ten-day battle to determine the possessor of the Fleet Admiral position,” Yusei spoke. “If I remember, the Grand Line Times spoke about this island, that it was once a rich haven of biodiversity chosen as the location of one of Dr Vegapunk's research laboratories.

“The facilities here used to belong to the Government scientist, Vegapunk,” Brownbeard agreed. “They were experimenting with and developing weapons and chemicals here. He had many prisoners brought here instead of being taken to jail, and used them in horrific experiments...! But then, four years ago, an experiment involving a chemical weapon Vegapunk was developing went horribly wrong, and two of the three research facilities on the island were reduced to rubble! We stand upon the remains of one of those facilities now!”

“...a deserted facility... no wonder they chose to fight here,” Yusei mumbled.

“The explosion covered the island with scorching heat and poisonous chemicals, wiping out all traces of life,” Brownbeard continued to narrate. “But the Government researchers sailed away without a thought for all the prisoners they left behind, and sealed off the island completely! The abandoned prisoners sought refuge in the research lab that was still standing. They took shelter there from the poisonous gases that had flooded the island outside. Due to a powerful nerve gas, even those who didn't die were outright paralysed from the waist down, and their futures were bleak at best...!”

Aki gasped, shivering as she crouched towards Yusei and Ace. Tentatively, Yusei reached out, but then held steady as flames erupted the length of his arm.

“But then, one year later, a man arrived on the island once more,” Brownbeard continued. “That man was none other than our great and merciful Master...! using his special abilities, he cleaned the island of the poisonous gas that plagued it, and with the power of science, he granted us the use of our legs once more, and took them as his lackeys! It was another year later that I found my way onto this island. There were still traces of poisonous chemicals in the air, and breathing the air made me horribly sick. I didn't even have the strength to go on. I thought my life was over... they appeared, the prisoners who lost their legs as I did, and the Master!”

Brownbeard gritted his teeth. “His kindness saved my life as it did the others'. Vegapunk was a devil because he paralysed my comrades' legs, but the Master was our benevolent saviour!”

Brook, Chopper and Franky had long started crying. “ _OOOH! Master!_ ”

“And then a few months ago, the second saviour – Trafalgar Law, who had gained the title of Shichibukai – came to this island. He took pity on us who couldn't walk, and gave us legs with his special ability! The legs of living animals! We had long given up hope of walking ever again... the joy of it brought us to tears!”

“What a touching story!” Franky sniffed, wiping snot from his currently blue nose.

“I knew Trafal-guy was a nice dude!” Luffy grinned. “He helped Ace and I out, after all!”

“I never knew Vegapunk was such a monster...” Nami commented.

“So that's why there were half-sheep people at the laboratory,” Sanji said.

“Centaurs and the bird-woman, too,” Usopp agreed. “It all makes sense. But... what about the dragon?”

“Dragon?” Ace sat up. “I wasn't there?!”

“Ace, it was great!” Luffy tackled the older D once more.

“Oh, you saw the dragon?” Brownbeard smirked. “That thing's an artificial creature Vegapunk created to guard the island. It can adapt itself to any kind of environment. I heard some Celestial Dragon liked it and named it... can't remember what, though. If you see it again, you should run for your lives. It's a vicious beast.”

Ace laughed as he rolled along the bare snow. “You already ate it, Luffy?”

“Yeah!” Luffy giggled.

“Shame... it sounds delicious.”

“Anyway, I hope you understand now who calls the shots on this island,” Brownbeard spoke to Yusei as it became clear that the mind currently inside the body of the Fire Fist was the only attentive listener of the bunch. “No one wants to come near it. Punk Hazard is our Master's property now! Uohhohho! Rejoice! The Master is carrying out a grand project for the future of humanity! All of you will get to become research projects for the sake of his glorious goal! There's no escape for you now, Uohhohho!”

“Get back here, bastard!” Ace crashed down, beside his body as he blew a breath. “Yusei, your stamina is weak!”

“Your own is way overboard, Ace-san,” Yusei retorted genially as Hane settled down to let the handyman groom her feathers. “How many bruises can I expect, Ace-san?”

“Don't care,” Ace thudded down on Yusei's body's back. “So this is how clarity's like.”

“We're building a snowman!” Luffy yelled, uncaring of the seriousness about to take place.

“AT LEAST LISTEN TO ME, DAMMIT!” Brownbeard complained loudly.

“Yusei?” Aki crouched closer, nearly touching the flame. “Are you feeling better? Do I need the cuffs?”

In the background, Franky suddenly blew up in Guard Point.

“If I can focus, I can keep the flames at bay,” Yusei answered, still massaging the bridge of his nose. “But my head hurts, and it feels like I'm under constant sleep deprivation. The problem now is we don't have enough information. If I remember from that article, the accident wasn't caused by Vegapunk, but by his second-in-command. There wasn't a name...”

“Luffy!” Sanji called. “I need to go off somewhere for a bit. Is that alright?”

“Sure!”

“In that case, I will guide you to the location in question,” Brook offered. “By the by, will you let me see your panties?”

“Sure! In fact, we should find a camera-”

“Hold on a minute!” Nami shouted after them, before forcing Zoro along. The sound of arguments echoed behind in the ruins of the laboratory.

“I'm fine, Aki,” Yusei assured. “You should watch the children, they need medical assistance.”

Aki considered Yusei carefully. “You should take a nap. Can you do that, Yusei?”

“I can try,” Yusei grimaced.

“Ace, Yusei is going to need help,” Aki sat up. “I'm going to help Chopper conduct blood tests,” she told them before walking off towards Chopper's temporary workstation, side-stepping a giant ball.

“You're going to overheat my brain at this rate,” Ace warned, getting up from the ground to land next to Yusei.

“If I remember, gas weapons are forbidden in this world,” Yusei noted, adopting a thinking gesture. “The mysterious Master, who kidnaps children for biological experiments. Trafalgar Law's presence. The Marine presence on this island. All three-”

“Don't think on it,” Ace slapped his own body upside the head, smirking as Yusei sat up and clutched at it. “My Haki can still be activated, and I think I've seen that samurai somewhere... didn't Aki say to try and sleep? My narcolepsy must be hell on an insomniac like you.”

“I can't sleep now,” Yusei muttered. “I must... until we get out of this crisis, I won't be able to sleep.”

“Then play with the kids a bit,” Ace dragged Yusei up. “Luffy, catch!”

“Yusei!” Luffy smiled, and the smile nearly vanished under the very accurately flung snowball amidst bundles of laughter and a fleeting, temporary joy. “Mocha! Synd! Snowball fight!”

“Franky, I don't think you should speak at all in that body. Ever again.” Robin admonished, her eyes nearly hidden in shadow.

For the moment that Ace threw him down, and then a grinning captain caught him, and Yusei found himself nearly screaming until Luffy caught him, Yusei's blue eyes remained wide and shell-shocked even as he heard Luffy's: “Don't worry, Yusei. We'll put you on ice until you can control Ace's powers!”

 _But..._ he though as water cascaded over his body, the snowballs melted by the Mera Mera ability. _I... just don't have that confidence in myself._

* * *

“Black Garden!” Thorned vines snapped out, creeping along the walls as Aki cast the Field Spell to tangle with the giant children's limbs, her hands trembling. “These kids... Mocha, Synd, Doran... they started shaking... it was so peaceful... they were so full of energy... they weren't sick at all...”

One of the children, Synd, then collapsed and started to lash out. “I- I can't breathe...!”

“Chopper, Aki, he's saying he can't breathe,” Luffy called. “Heal him!”

Mocha was next, and then Doran... the giants kept falling down and they were hurting so much...

“Is there something you want?” Chopper quickly demanded. “What do you usually do around this time?”

“Usually...?” Synd groaned. “We have our examination... and then... _grrrhh_!”

“And after that?” Chopper pressed.

“...they give us... some candy...”

“Candy?” Aki echoed.

“Uh huh,” a child agreed. “It's delicious. We all love that candy.”

“And it's fun, too,” another added. “It's fizzy and smoky.”

“Oh yeah... When I eat that candy... when I eat that candy, I... I feel happy, so...” Synd was pleading. “...that might help me now!”

“No,” Aki stated. “It won't help. It won't help any of you.”

“What do you know about this?!” Chopper rounded onto the chained Brownbeard. “These children are not sick!”

“What are you saying?” the former pirate snarled. “I work outside so I don't know much about what's going on in the laboratory, but those brats have an intractable disease! Do you have a problem with our Master?”

“Dr Chopper, I'm going to administer activated charcoal!” Aki called, rushing to the medic workstation.

“What the hell is the Master guy thinking?!” Chopper raged back, unheeding of Aki's call.

“Our Master went out of his way to gather them from their island homes so that he could treat them with his own special techniques and medicine!” Brownbeard retorted. “He's a tender-hearted scientist!”

“Roll this child onto her back!” Aki called, running as another one collapsed. “Administer the activated charcoal, everyone! Synd, stop!”

“Got it!” the other Strawhats fell into action.

The blond boy began to act out, even as Luffy jumped into action. “ _Candy! Candy!_ ”

“I guess even young giants must be pretty strong!” Usopp commented.

“Synd isn't a giant!” one of the children declared.

“Huh?”

“None of the big kids are giants! When we first arrived on the island, all of us were normal-sized!”

“I thought we had a disease that made us grow! Isn't that right? There's nothing else wrong with us!” A dark-haired boy added. “The kids who've been here the longest are always the biggest!”

“Look!” Brownbeard continued obliviously. “They're suffering now because they left the laboratory before they've had their treatment!”

“You're wrong!” Chopper shouted.

“Chopper, did you find something?” Nami demanded from where she was propping up a child for Aki's scrutiny.

“...NHC10,” Chopper imparted. “I found it while examining the children. Only trace amounts, but it's definitely there. This is... a drug!”

The tension had definitely ratcheted up, especially as the giant children were now at priority examination as Aki set out more medicines.

“Only select doctors in a few countries are allowed to use it!” Chopper proclaimed. “I knew about it because Doctorine could use it. It can be used to treat illnesses, but only in the smallest of doses because it's highly addictive!”

“These children must have been taking the drug everyday for such a long period of time, that they've reached the chronic addiction stage!” Aki exclaimed, pulling her DuelDisk out.

“ _Their bodies are seeking the next dose to escape the pain?!_ ” Chopper yelled. “ _Why?! Why would anyone do this to innocent children?! Just to stop them escaping from the lab?! WHAT IS YOUR SO-CALLED SAVIOUR REALLY DOING WITH THESE CHILDREN?!”_

“What are you giving them, Aki?” Nami asked.

“Activated charcoal,” Aki answered, bunching her hair up with a pencil. “Yusei, the hot water, is it done?”

“Yeah,” Yusei handed over a basin of it.

“Dancing Fairy, summon!” Aki called as three fairies fluttered about. “Come, my Black Garden!”

Synd struggled hard as the vines bunched him in, joined by the children as they were strapped down by the vines. At the same time, a cascade of healing light descended upon the children.

“Right now we need to administer Diazepam,” Aki started to crush a few tablets from the medical kit. “Yusei, the water?”

“Still warming!” Yusei waved where his hand was boiling a basin, while opposite him Ace was scooping snow into the basin from outside. “Do we need ice?”

“No! Sterilise my tools in case we need to perform a tracheotomy.” Aki gathered the powder. “Nami-san, restrain them, please! Did all of them get the charcoal?”

“Not yet!”

“Then Robin-san, please get that boy's mouth open!”

“Gimme some candy... _please_...!” Synd moaned quietly as vines wrapped around him.

“Do they need the candy?” Luffy asked, worried as Aki pushed the plunger a bit.

“No!” Chopper ran back towards the impromptu triage. “The lab has been using it to feed these children dangerous drugs! We can't let them so much as taste that candy ever again! Aki?”

“Administering of activated charcoal for oral detoxification,” Aki delivered, her voice now professional. “Followed by 0.2 mg Diazepam. Yusei is sterilising the tools in case we need to perform an emergency tracheotomy.”

“That was fast!” Chopper exclaimed, moving to help mix up more treatments. “Having more doctors is such a relief!”

“The water!” Yusei delivered the basin, still steaming. “I filtered it through the charcoal, as you said.”

“Mmm, good work.” Aki poured in the powder as Franky delivered a few more children, stirring with a large spoon to dissolve it.

“Aki, did you handle a lot of poisoning cases?” Chopper asked.

“...enough,” Aki remotely answered, setting out spoons of the mixture into cups. “There are drugs that give similar reactions to NHC10 in my world. This is only a stopgap measure, Dr Chopper; we need to figure out the next step.”

“We need to put them to sleep!” Chopper declared even as he slowly fed the giant baby. “Aki's rose vines can restrain them, but they need to be sedated!”

“Luffy, get out of the way!” Usopp drew his Black Kabuto.

“Usopp, don't hurt them!” Nami protested.

“You don't need to tell me that, Nami!” Usopp aimed. “ _Hissatsu: Sleep Star!_ ”

The rampaging children in withdrawal calmed, and with them, the Strawhat Pirates' two doctors faced them.

“No disease in the world would make humans grow as large as giants,” Chopper declared.

“Their pituitary glands must be releasing hormones at an accelerated rate...” Aki agreed. “That wouldn't happen naturally...”

“So... these kids are being experimented on!” Chopper concluded. “What is the Master trying to achieve?! How dare he control these children with his drugs?!”

“Unforgivable,” Aki whispered, trembling. “It's so cruel...”

“The children really were kidnapped,” Yusei considered.

“It's a risk in the New World,” Ace agreed, looking at the steaming basin.

“Luffy,” Chopper stated.

“Yeah?”

“I can't just leave the children!” Chopper shouted. “They just want to go home! They want to see their parents... we have to help them!”

“Luffy!” Nami said. “I want to help them, too!”

“I wish to help them too!” Aki spoke up. “Yusei, you've been quiet the whole time.”

“...there is no need to wish, not since there is a need,” Yusei stated. “I will help them.” It was absolute, nearly defiant, and indicated that Fudo Yusei was set on this course regardless of the captain's decision.

“Hmm...” Luffy stretched as Aki administered the warm mixture of sedative into enlarged throats as Robin massaged the liquid in. “Right, let's take them all to their parents!”

“Idiot!” Franky scolded. “It's not that easy! We have a mountain of problems too!”

“He's right,” Robin stated. “Plus, it's just speculation now. Nothing can be resolved until we see the ringleader.”

“The Master guy, right?” Luffy drawled, crossing his arms. “But Zoro, Sanji and Brook went out looking for the samurai... well, that's okay!”

He dropped from the giant child to the snow-covered ground, landing on his feet. “Alright! Let's go to the laboratory to see the Master!”

“I must maintain this Black Garden if these children awaken,” Aki said.

“We'll stay here, Aki and I,” Chopper volunteered.

“What?” Usopp echoed.

“I really can't stomach what the Master guy is doing, and I wanna kick his ass!” Chopper declared. “But I can't leave these kids here. I have to look after them. Aki too, she's got her rose vines tying these children, protecting them from themselves.”

“True,” Nami was hiding by the side. “Then I'll stay here too!”

“Hey, Nami, that's not fair!” Usopp screeched. “You're just scared!”

“I must stay as well,” Yusei answered. “Since more hot water might be needed. We need Ace-san too.”

“Huh?” Ace snapped. “Why? I wanna punch the Master guy too!”

“Because if these children have been experimented upon, then they're valuable test subjects to that Master,” Yusei explained. “Most likely, guards will be combing the island for them. We need someone with Haki to sense them in case we need to lay low or incapacitate a few guards.”

“That's true... okay!” Luffy grinned. “Ace, can you watch the brats?”

Franky nodded. “Then what about the body shuffle situation? I assume the four of us can't go back to normal unless we see Trafalgar together.”

“Why bother?” Luffy grinned. “Just leave it as it is. Yusei's face suits Ace!”

“No way!” Ace and Nami actually yelled together.

* * *

“Shooting Star, Fire Fist, and Straw Hat...”

It was fun to see Caesar Clown fret like this, Law reflected. The Marineford Miracle might be debatable amongst the fields of medicine, science and religious theory alike, but it still made its constructor notorious across the world. The Worst Generation might be present at every major incident in the world, but the Strawhats were interesting. The same way that a chemical explosion might be interesting.

“Three of them might be dead, but if Shooting Star gets to them, it might as well be zero!” Caesar fretted. “And Fire Fist is on the island too! Even without Whitebeard, Fire Fist is not to be underestimated!”

“The Strawhats are a part of the Worst Generation, as is Law,” Monet observed. “The Government is keeping an eye on them as well as Blackbeard. And there was a scintillating newspaper article with the title 'They're Back in Force' so I thought they were stronger. What do you think, Law? Do you know them? Two years ago at Sabaody and Marineford... you got involved with the Strawhats twice.”

“What?” Caesar snarled, levelling a double-barrelled flintlock onto Law. “You didn't summon them here, right?”

“I told you,” Law defended, “I didn't know they were held captive here until I ran into them at the entrance. If I knew, I would've warned you that locking them in a room wasn't enough. Shooting Star managed to pick explosive locks before at Sabaody.”

He was met with two flat stares.

“I wasn't able to drive the Navy out thanks to your carelessness,” Law continued. “It's bad news for me too if anyone finds out about this place.”

There was a bout of silence, until Caesar pointed the flintlock away. “Well... I suppose if you were planning to call associates to this island, you'd be a bit more clever about it. After going out of your way to ingratiate yourself with the World Government and join the ranks of the Shichibukai in order to come here, I can't imagine you'd do anything so careless as to ruin our plans. You have my apologies. What do you think of the Shooting Star?”

“He's the Strawhat handyman,” Law commented. “You said just now, those kids would come back here sooner or later regardless. What do you mean?”

“Oh that,” Caesar laughed, holding up a red pellet. “I feed them a special drug candy every day. It releases a sweet and intoxicating stimulant gas, _shurorororo_... they won't get their next dose unless they come back to me...!”

“...you're a sick man,” Law muttered, standing up. “You remind me of someone.”

“Aren't you going to fight the Navy?” Money questioned as Law picked up his sword and started walking off.

“Call me if you need to,” Law spoke without looking back. “I'll take down whosoever you need.”

“Even one of those fabled dragons that destroyed Marineford?” Monet teased.

“I'll know... when I fight one of them.”

* * *

Rocks that fell from the ceiling were caught gently in vines of the lie-sapping garden, slowly being cradled to the very boundary of the field by living plant matter. Around their encampment, it was no longer snowing.

“The roles have changed, Yusei,” Ace drawled from his perch on an empty crate halfway between the Garden, with a basin of sterilised tools on hand as he noted Aki's work.

“I don't like what's going on!” Nami wept.

“This definitely isn't an earthquake!” Chopper stated, picking up another pestle. “Yusei, you're right. We're definitely under attack!”

Brownbeard, recently awoken from falling rocks during the sudden barrage, started laughing. “If we're on a snow-capped mountain, it's definitely those guys!”

“You know what's going on, right?” Nami threatened him. “Who are they and what are they doing here? If you don't answer, I'll do this! BEAM! _Beam! Beeeaaaam~_ ”

“Are you making fun of beams?!” Ace and Chopper yelled back.

“It's no use looking for them because they'll never show themselves!” Brownbeard laughed. “We don't even know much about them, not even their faces. They'll carry out an assassination at any cost for their reward. All we know about them is that their footprints are huge and they have low voices. Oh right! And one more thing. They're furry, giant beast-like men. The Snow Mountain Killers – stalking out from deep in the snowstorm! And we happen to know their names – Rock and Scotch! People call them the Yeti Cool Brothers! We really don't know much about them but they were from a snowy region and their age is-”

“You know a lot!” Nami accused.

“Yusei,” Ace drawled. “Two parties. Height about nine metres, who cares about weight. Fur colour: white. Speciality is assassination with rifle, but close-quarter combat is OK. If that guy moves for us, shoot him.”

“You're Brownbeard, right?” the muzzle of a giant rifle aimed at Brownbeard. “You're on our death list.”

“KYAAA!” Nami screamed.

“What's with that guy?” Chopper shouted in shock. “He's huge but I didn't notice he was there!”

“This field is still secure,” Aki spoke. “As long as I'm here, the children will be protected.”

“Rock?!” Brownbeard paled. “Is that you?”

“No, I'm Scotch,” the giant armed yeti with a hat spoke quietly.

“I just heard you say... oh, I probably misheard it,” Brownbeard tittered. “Geez, I was scared. The Master asked you to save me, right? Then just unchain me and we can-” He fell silent as the muzzle pressed closer.

“You didn't mishear,” Scotch's tone did not change inflection. “I'm here to kill you at the Master's request.”

“No way...” Brownbeard whimpered.

“Listen to this,” Scotch lifted one hand to produce a DenDen Mushi nestled within a crevice.

“ _Oh, and what was that guy's name?_ ” a man's voice drifted from it. “ _The one captured by them. Hairy-faced idiot. Famous for being useless even when he was a pirate. Oh, yes, that's right. Brownbeard._ ”

“That's him?” Chopper wondered. “That Master?”

“ _He's only a hindrance to me now. I don't need him. Kill him._ ”

Brownbeard's expression of despair and fear was evident even as the DenDen Mushi clicked off with a _ka-chuk_.

Scotch put the DenDen Mushi away, levelling his rifle anew on a terrified and despairing Brownbeard. “Answer. You're Brownbeard, right?”

“It can't be...” Brownbeard started to cry, snot and tears dripping to mingle in the russet locks that bore his name. “It can't be... no... no... MASTER!”

“It's annoying.” Scotch muttered. “You should drop dead in a cooler way!”

The flintlock snapped, but nothing echoed. Nami, Chopper, even Brownbeard and Scotch blinked as nothing came of it.

“Don't shoot here,” Yusei's voice echoed from behind them. “What will you do if the children wake up?”

A crash greeted Scotch as he fell, landing on his back with a quick shove. The rifle went off.

“Is that your brother?” Yusei commented as a newly black-streaked form leapt away from the hole in the roof created by the accidental shot. “I presume that the artillery barrage just now was both your faults.”

“Fire Fist Ace,” Rock hissed. “Scotch!”

“Oh, that's not _cool_ ,” Yusei continued. “You should join us, Mr Rock. After all that effort to fine-tune my control, it would be wasted.”

“Y- Yusei is...” Nami murmured. “Yusei... are you actually... very strong?”

“Shit,” Rock cursed, lifting his rifle. “The captain is back! I don't have time to deal with this...”

“Mr Rock,” the barrel melted from the sheer heat pouring off of Yusei as he stood before the giant Yeti in a storm-less patch of land within the blizzard. “Would you prefer to take your chance... or... deal here and now?”

The expressionless face did not move, even as Rock disappeared, and even as Nami's scream echoed behind him. However, the blue in those eyes were more determined than ever.

“Yusei, they got Nami!” Chopper ran out from behind.

“Dam... it,” Yusei swore under his breath. “Sorry... Chopper-san. My... poker face... needs work.”

“That was a _bluff_?” Chopper squawked.

“Not... completely,” Yusei answered as flames caught onto his skin. “Not... here, not here... here... here...”

“Yusei? Yusei, snap out of it!” Chopper squawked as the flames increased.

“ _WAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”_

“Chopper!” Luffy's cry echoed as its possessor appeared, but dropped. “Yusei? Oi, what's wrong? Chopper, is he alright?”

“I don't know- wait!” Chopper started. “The narcolepsy! Ace, have you fallen asleep since our switch?!”

“No...” Ace poked a crab-shaped head out.

“Do you usually have hallucinations when falling asleep?” Chopper demanded, watching as Ace blanched. “I thought so.”

Yusei fell to his knees, shaking. “What...? Everything's blank... Aki? Luffy-san? Anyone?”

“What's wrong?!” Luffy demanded, cringing as another soul-searing scream brought Aki running to the outside.

“Narcolepsy includes excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations!” Chopper snapped, shielding himself with a black-coated forearm as flames suddenly burned fiercer in intensity. “Normally Devil Fruit users have their powers switch off when they're asleep, but Yusei is chronically insomniac! His insomnia must be battling with Ace's narcolepsy now, and he's losing control!”

“Yusei that bastard-” Ace made to step forward, but Franky restrained him.

“No! If you get close now, you'll be burnt!”

“We have to make him fall asleep!” Chopper insisted. “Aki, do you have tranquillisers?”

“No,” Aki shook her head. “Yusei's insomnia was so chronic, I ran out of sedatives I could give him. But, Yusei could sleep aboard the Black Bird and the Sunny. He said... he feels better sleeping in a safe place with his comrades...”

Snow hissed as it vaporised, and Ace's shirt burned, baring the old scars from Akainu's blow two years ago as Yusei continued screaming.

“Yusei!” Luffy shouted. “Don't move! I'll knock you out right now!”

“Well, I've got to-” Ace struggled free, nearly slipping on the slippery ground. “Let go! I'll just knock out the bastard! He's in my body, my responsibility!”

“I'm the captain, shut up!” Luffy yelled back, pulling up his sleeves. “Yusei, go to _sleep_! _Gomu Gomu no...!_ ”

“Stardust Dragon!”

A roar answered, and the body fell as the ground trembled, destabilising the ground that was already slippery and impregnated with thick layers of ice for over two years, suddenly met with a rush of heat that turned the hard-packed ground into so much slushy ground.

Both D brothers regarded the giant dragon, whose broad chest flexed as it raised a clawed hand as if to aim down.

“You're Yusei's dragon, right?!” Luffy demanded, eyes wide. “You're his _nakama_... step aside!”

“Stardust...?” Aki echoed to herself.

The dragon held up one hand, pointing to its chest. It made a twirling motion with one claw, and then pointed towards Ace. It then made a fist and growled.

“You want me to... find Trafal-guy and fix this,” Luffy nodded as comprehension dawned. “I see. And... Yusei?”

The clawed right hand pointed to itself, and then towards Chopper, Robin, Aki, Ace, Luffy, even towards the encampment.

“If Yusei goes out of control... you'll destroy him,” Aki realised.

In the distance, a clawed icy hand smacked a fiery hand. The owners of both hands ignored it to watch the giant dragon curl protectively around the body in question, watching the straw-hat and the dark denim jacket bounce off into the distance, and the remaining Strawhats set up another watch for their friend. “The rest of his deck will just have to get our proposal from that Stardust Dragon.”

“Whatever, original. Hurry up and dream-walk.”

* * *

“ _Emergency, emergency...”_

“ _Run! Hurry up!”_

“ _Uwahh! Uwahh!”_

…

_He was wandering in the hallways of a castle. Glittering crystal shards lit his way, the place beautiful in a cold, eerie and remote way, glittering like so many stars in a constant night._

_Beside him walked the mistress of the castle, she must be, for there was no other beauty who resembled this castle so much like her, cold and remote and glittering with the jewels at her throat and bodice and on the hems of the aquamarine long gown and in long blue wavy tresses that seemed... familiar..._

“ _Our master won't die so easily,” the mistress of the castle admonished. “Welcome back, Master Yusei.”_

“ _Stardust...” Yusei greeted. “Everyone... was this place renovated?”_

“ _It is the room of your heart,” the human personification of the Signer Dragon admonished. “It expands because you can relate to so many people. Master Yusei... I question your decision each time you get injured. You hold no obligation to these people. You have friends in another world, and a life with Aki-ojou. Yet you let go of a life of peace, one that you dreamt of, to continue fighting battles that are not your own. Why? This world, these pirates, do not require another nexus of hearts!”_

“ _... this has nothing to do with connecting hearts, Stardust,” Yusei answered. “I just couldn't fall asleep.”_

“ _Because you're worried for someone else!” she snapped, glaring at a particularly large crystal. “The reason you've been hunting for spirits across the Grand Line, aside from protecting people, is to gather power! Master Yusei... creating this card will shorten your life! It is still not too late!_ ”

“ _The rest of my life will not be worth it if any of us were to die,” Yusei answered,_ _turning to face her. “Sorry, Stardust.”_

_She sighed. “I knew you would always give this answer. That's why I didn't want you...”_

“ _Too late,” a sing-song voice echoed, and Duelist and dragon faced another intruder into this sphere between dreams. He wore a sleeveless purple shirt, black pants, and black shoes with enough gold jewellery to match perhaps even the Winged Dragon of Ra, and a smile to match. “Fudo Yusei. My name is Malik Ishtar. I have a proposition you cannot refuse.”_

* * *

It definitely felt like his head was splitting open, Yusei reflected as he sat up in a cold sweat, having fallen asleep. He touched his face, reflecting on his hands and down to his boots-

He blinked, staring at the bandages covering his hands before he examined that he was wearing a sleeveless shirt ostensibly in the middle of a blizzard. Also that his throat was parched, bruises were definitely on his body, and his hands smarted.

“Oh, Yusei's awake!”

The breath was knocked from his body, and he felt the frozen walls of the encampment intimately, even as a rubbery something – no prizes for guessing what – snaked around him. “Luffy-san... I can't breathe...”

“You idiot,” Ace scolded, even as the older D joined in the tackle but lifted him from the walls. “You should have just slept inside the Black Garden. Aki would've watched you.”

“But, the children- I wouldn't want the trouble- I need air!” Yusei choked, recalling the dream.

“Say your problems like that in the future!” Ace snarled, but plucked at Luffy's arm. The rubbery constriction loosened.

“Yusei, we were _worried_ about you!” Luffy was yelling. “You can't sleep?! I'm sure Chopper or Aki or Ace or I can help you with that?”

“Sorry, Luffy-san,” Yusei shrugged despite the hold on him. “What happened to my hands?”

“Yusei!” Aki exclaimed as Ace dragged the constricted pair over. “Finally! I was worried that Ace-san might have broken your arm or something. Do your hands hurt?”

“I'll... survive,” Yusei managed. “I guess... Law-san switched our minds back?”

“Oh right!” Luffy pulled back and grinned. “We're gonna form an alliance with Trafal-guy!”


	21. XX: Desert Twister

“Luffy-san,” Yusei said, looking at everyone back in their respective bodies – except for Nami, in Sanji's body – and the patients were settled. That is, everyone sans Brook, Zoro, Sanji in Nami's body, and the Wano samurai. “Exactly what happened when I was knocked out? Why is Chopper-san in bandages?”

“We ran to get Trafal-guy, Ace and I,” Luffy mentioned happily. “But Franky ate one of Chopper's pills too fast and went out of control, so we found the guys who took Nami first. We beat them up and luckily found Trafal-guy. Trafal-guy suggested we form an alliance to take down one of the Four Emperors.”

“Yusei, make him change his mind!” A crying Usopp pleaded. “You with your miraculous power can do it! If we make an alliance with this creep who gives me the chills, I won't be able to sleep at night!”

“Usopp-san,” Yusei's expression was quietly tragic in its acceptance. “No power in this world can change Luffy-san's mind.”

“You weren't from this world to start with, don't give me that!” Usopp yelled.

Ace's reaction was the worst; there was laughter enough to set the cave ablaze was echoing about as the older D giggled until he sank to his knees, fists hitting the ground. Gut-splitting laughter followed this pronouncement, especially in front of the stoic Shichibukai. “Luffy... alliance...”

“I thought you'd be more keen on it, Yusei-ya,” Law commented. “Especially since the Navy and what remains of the Whitebeard Pirates seem to think you're his successor or something. You've even got a former admiral gunning for your head.”

“Really, Yusei?” Nami asked.

“Well...” Yusei fidgeted slightly.

“Borsalino, formerly Admiral Kizaru,” Aki confessed. Wreathed in the gold dust of the Dancing Fairies, she looked like a goddess or a witch; the distinction was sometimes unclear. “It wasn't our fault, but the Navy seemed to think that we controlled his movements so that he was our unwitting pawn. I did a similar trick on Donquixote Doflamingo, so I don't blame them, but Kizaru was not our fault!”

“...despite that very interesting comment, the fact remains that mind-control is a possibility in your repertoire,” Law commented, eyeing the Black Garden with all the children warily. “Add the ability to raise the dead, and the New World being after both of you is explainable, Yusei-ya, Dr Izayoi-ya.”

“Luffy,” Robin spoke. “If this is your decision, I won't object. But, do know that pirate alliances go hand-in-hand with betrayal. This idea might not be suitable to you since you are so trusting.”

“Huh?” Dumbly, the Strawhat captain turned to the other captain. “Are you going to betray me?”

“No.”

“Oi, at least have some doubt!” Usopp yelled at Luffy's toothy grin.

Ace just broke out in a fresh round of laughter, joined quickly by Luffy.

“About Fire Fist-ya...” Law started to say.

“Ah, how to say it,” Ace drawled, pulling the younger D onto his lap. “An independent alliance? Technically it's something like a pirate alliance, but it's frankly more like cashing in on a favour, since I'm representing just myself. Yusei, what's that fancy term again?”

“Corporation sole,” Yusei sighed. “Meaning that you're here as Fire Fist Ace, not as Whitebeard Second Division Commander.”

“Anyway, I think a pirate alliance might be fun!” Luffy grinned, climbing like a monkey with his bendy arms to sit on Ace's shoulders. “I think Trafal-guy is a good guy, but even if he isn't, don't worry! I have you guys who've been training hard for two years on my side! Hahaha~!”

“EEEEEHHHHH?!” most of them shouted, complete with eyeballs nearly popping out of skulls and Aki watching the children for signs of disturbance.

“L- Luffy, you...!” Usopp accused.

“#^.^# D- Don't say things like that, you'll make me embarrassed~!” Nami squealed.

“Yeah,” Franky agreed. “I know we're super dependable, but-”

“We just do what we gotta do, dammit~!” Chopper was doing a fair imitation of noodly Sanji. “You're not flattering me, idiot~!”

“A- Alright, Luffy!” Usopp boasted, nose high in the air. “You can leave it to us! If Zoro and the others don't agree, I'll personally make sure they change their minds!”

Law just stared at them. “@_@;...”

“Say, can't you do anything about my body?” Nami pleaded at him.

“...I can't do anything without your body here,” Law answered dismissively, regarding the children as he regained his stoic façade. “So these are the children. What's with the roses?”

“They're restraints,” Aki answered. “I've given them activated charcoal and Diazepam.”

“They're more trouble than they're worth,” Law dismissed. “You should forget about them. I hear they're heavily drugged.”

“We know that already!” Chopper protested. “'Cause I tested them! That's why we want to move them safely back to their homes, but it'll take time to get the drug out of their systems, and more importantly, they're so big!”

“Turning people into giants is a project that has been under way for hundreds of years by the World Government,” Law commented.

“The Government?” Robin questioned. “For what purpose?”

“For military purposes, probably,” Law answered. “If they could produce an infinite number of giant soldiers, nobody would be able to stand up to them. Caesar probably wants to achieve the goal first and outsmart the Government and Vegapunk. Of course, it's not an easy task...”

Conflict warred across Franky's, Usopp's and Nami's faces as the Shichibukai turned his head to regard Chopper. “Do you really want to help them? You don't even know who they are.”

“Yes,” Nami replied, moving to kneel next to one sleeping child. “Although we don't know them well, they asked me to help them with tears in their eyes. It seems like the Master tricked them and brought them here, but they themselves already know that there's something wrong with this place. Until I know that they're safe, I won't leave this island!”

“I will not leave as well,” Aki stated. “I swore to uphold the medical tenets as a doctor back in my world.”

“You're both willing to stay here alone?” Law questioned. 

“I'm not going to leave my companions alone,” Luffy drawled severely. “If that's what Chopper, Nami and Aki wants, I want it too.”

Law started.

“And, Sanji wants to stick the samurai's body together,” Luffy continued, on a roll of nearly impossible requests. “Trafal-guy, you gotta help us if you wanna team up with us!”

At this, Ace sank back to his knees in fits of helpless laughter, pointing at Law's stunned expression. “Did you see that? He's... going to be driven mad...! Hahahahaha!!!”

“@_@;...”

“I thought so,” Usopp rubbed the bridge of his long nose, before glaring at the older D brother. “You had no idea. Ace, stop laughing!”

“It's too funny :'D~!” Ace chortled, pointing at the armed Shichibukai. “He has no idea at all!”

This continued in some vein until Ace's shoulders stopped shaking. “Trafalgar, you think an alliance is simply a cooperative relationship just for some common goal, don't you?”

“Of course!” Law snapped.

“Uhh... I don't think Luffy's idea of an 'alliance' is the same as yours,” Usopp volunteered, drawing part of Law's ire.

“It's like being friends, right?” Luffy took that moment to shatter any preconceptions the Heart Pirate captain had had about his fellow Supernova.

“If you're planning on ordering him about, you should just give up on that,” Usopp continued his elaboration.

“He's right,” Luffy started to pick his nose.

“Once he's decided something, he won't back down. It's a pain in the ass!” Usopp lamented. “His selfishness is as formidable as the Four Emperors.”

“Isn't that something,” said the captain with selfishness as formidable as the Four Emperors as he flicked a booger, which landed on Chopper's face.

“But, what your friends want has nothing to do with us at all-”

“Oi! Don't throw your booger at me, idiot!” Chopper's screech cut him off.

“Oh, sorry, heeheehee...” Luffy chuckled.

“I can't move right now!” Chopper complained.

“...alright, I get it.” Law gave in after looking towards Yusei and finding only placid acceptance. “There's not much time. I'll leave the samurai to you guys. I'll go find out about the drug these kids have been given. We'll have to do a bit of sneaking around to research the drug, Dr Izayoi-ya.”

“I have to restrain the children, Dr Trafalgar,” Aki replied, picking up Chopper. “Anyway, there are two doctors.”

“Sorry about this. I can't move about right now, so I'm in your hands!” Chopper spoke from atop the mound of white fur that Usopp had tied him to. Since that mound was actually Law's hat, Law's horrified visage, though understandable, was enough to send the other Strawhats into a tizzy of laughter anew.

“D- Don't drop him, Trafal-guy!” Luffy laughed.

“Super cute!” Franky crowed in agreement.

“I- I shouldn't laugh...” Nami giggled, and even Robin smiled.

“Good luck, Law-san,” Yusei actually smiled in the face of Law's pained expression. “You'll need it.”

* * *

“From that pair of assassins just now, a certain scientist called Caesar Clown intends to kill all of us, along with Vice-Admiral 'White Chase' Smoker and the staff of G-5, as well as recover the children,” Yusei counted. “We can assume that he's not going to stop until he achieves that goal. For the sake of this short-term goal, and the more long-term one of defeating the Emperor Kaido, Luffy-san has formed an alliance with the Heart Pirates via their captain. Law-san, what can you tell us about Caesar?”

“Finally, a bastion of sanity...” the words were said much more quietly before growing in volume. “Caesar-ya is a former Government scientist of was reduced to a criminal status after the major incident of four years ago. If word gets out that someone has taken up residence on the island, he will lose a perfect hideout. So I can promise he'll stop at nothing to see all of you dead. Bounty of three hundred million Beli. A Logia-type Gas Gas Fruit-user who owns weapons of mass destruction. That's who Caesar Clown is.”

Usopp swallowed.

“Three hundred million...?” Nami echoed.

“If you can't use Haki, stay away from him,” Law drawled. “He's a lot more than just a mere scientist.”

“The only ones who can use Haki are me, Ace... Zoro and Sanji... and you, right?” Luffy asked.

“That would be perfect,” Law answered. “Other than that, Yusei-ya and Dr Izayoi-ya can negate Devil Fruit powers... Yusei-ya?”

“Yusei?” Luffy turned his head. “What are you writing?”

“Caesar Clown's Gas-Gas power,” Yusei added more numbers to a mess of mathematical equations. “Even if he is a Logia-user, all Devil Fruit users must conform to some law of nature and require practice. Ways of fighting with control over all gases include poison gas, explosive gases, removal of all gases within a certain area or substitution with completely inert gases, the simplest of which conform to the ideal gas law, PV=nRT. In short, the required secondary power... stressed equation...”

“Ignore him,” Ace snorted, watching Yusei scribble with chalk on the walls as every other Strawhat just stared at the handyman. “He gets into this every time we got into a battle with a Devil Fruit user. It's a stress reaction.”

“Caesar Clown might be able to turn himself into gas, but we can trap gases using an improvised oxygen canister,” Yusei turned to the rest. “Any ideas, everyone?”

“Nerve gases... I remember that they're commonly phosphorus-containing,” Aki mentioned. “To cure nerve agent poisoning requires atrophine combined with pralidoxime chloride and Diazepam. I could prep a few kits just in case, but if we get caught, it's over.”

“You haven't fought Caesar yet... and yet you've just dissected his poison gases and devised a treatment for it, Dr Izayoi-ya?” Law clasped her hand, and got Yusei's hand in his other hand. Both limbs were shaking. “And you've already devised a method to beat him, Yusei-ya?”

“It's just a beginning plan...” Yusei blinked. “It might not succeed. And we haven't even taken environmental factors into consideration yet- not that the plan would survive-”

“I'm already grateful that they're sensible people with this lot, but you guys...” Law was actually shaking. “...would you like to join-”

“Trafal-guy!” Luffy punched Law in the back of his head. “Stop trying to poach my crew!”

“So what we're going to do is kidnap the Master, right?” Luffy asked as Law nursed a head bump.

“Yeah,” Law winced.

“But why are we kidnapping them?” Franky drawled.

“Money?” Usopp suggested. “I thought the Master guy is their boss.”

“But who else can pay us a ransom?” Nami questioned.

“We're not going to do it for money,” Law corrected. “Just to raise havoc.”

The answer stirred Robin and Franky. “Havoc?” Robin echoed.

“There's no point telling you what lies ahead before we even kidnap him successfully,” Law answered. “Focus on capturing Caesar Clown for once. It's not going to be easy. I'll tell you all the details of my plan after that. However, when we kidnap Caesar successfully, things will start moving whether you like it or not. At that point, there will be no turning back.”

Yusei paused in his scribbling for a moment, before returning to it with greater fervour.

“This is the last chance for you to reconsider,” Law cautioned.

“That's okay,” Luffy assured. “We're with you.”

“In that case, I'll go along with what you guys want to do,” Law sighed. “You need to convince the rest of your crew.”

“Yeah,” Luffy grinned. “I got it! Oi, Yusei, you done yet?”

“More or less,” Yusei set down the chalk. “Luffy-san, I need several things from Caesar's lab.”

“Yusei?” Aki echoed. “You were just knocked out. And with those injuries...”

“Sorry, Aki,” Yusei whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder. “This is necessary.”

“You can't wait?” Luffy complained.

“It is necessary, Luffy-san.”

“...You go with Chopper and Trafal-guy,” Luffy grinned. “Don't overdo it, Yusei!”

“You too,” Yusei tapped a point on the mass of equations.

* * *

It would sound like the set-up for a bad joke, but two men and a reindeer walked into a dark pipe. 

“Yusei, what do you need to get?” Chopper asked from his position as a dangling reindeer from Law's nodachi.

“A few capacitors,” Yusei replied. “Some more information would be good, too. I've already sent a few scouts to check the facility.”

Law paused. “When did you do that?”

“Ten minutes ago.”

“I see,” Law paused. “Are you the brains?”

“I'm just the handyman.”

“You seem to know a lot about gases.”

“I was a scientist before.”

“Before?”

“Before I became a handyman.”

“Just now, Dr Izayoi-ya said that she swore to uphold medical tenets as a doctor in her world,” Law commented.

“I met everyone at the Florian Triangle,” Yusei commented. It was neither an answer nor a denial.

“How did you join the Strawhats?” Law questioned.

“It's a long story, but I joined just before Sabaody.”

“So, you're the newest of the lot?”

“...that is one interpretation,” Yusei replied after a long silence of simple echoing footsteps.

“Yusei's super-reliable!” Chopper encouraged. “When we visited Fishman Island, the king wanted to marry Princess Shirahoshi to him!”

“Really?” Yusei frowned. “I didn't know...”

“Jimbe convinced them that it was a bad idea, but it took a lot of work,” Chopper said. “After Marineford, you've become pretty famous, Yusei.”

“I just regret not being able to save anyone two years ago,” the handyman replied. “If I'd have been stronger...”

“Didn't you say that same thing on Merville?” Chopper replied. “Aki and you managed to escape the Pacifista and a Marine Admiral, and even rescue Ace. You were the one who was there when the rest of us couldn't make it.”

“If you were any stronger, you'd already be one of the Four Emperors, or one of the Shichibukai, assuming you didn't join the Marines,” Law cut in. “Just now, I get the feeling that you know how to build weapons of mass destruction as well.”

“I wouldn't do that,” Yusei replied.

“So you _do_ know.” Law's arch reply was terrifying in its implications.

More silence as they walked, slowly making their way to Caesar's facility. “You weren't worried about Strawhat-ya taking on the Four Emperors.”

“Luffy-san will do it no matter what I think.”

“And you just enable him like this?”

“I am a handyman. It is my job.”

“So... if another crew had been there...”

“Depending on if I lived or died, I could have joined a completely different crew,” Yusei commented, oblivious to the micro-expressions passing on his human companion's face. “I'm lucky, to have joined around the same time as Brook-san, and to have my friends with me.”

“Your luck was bad,” Chopper directed to Law. “Don't cry.”

“I'm not-” Law caught himself as they met the end of the pipe and a veritable snowstorm.

“If he has enough, Caesar Clown could release poison gas and have it spread by the convection currents naturally formed here,” Yusei observed.

“Stop!” Chopper screeched. “You're getting as bad as Robin!”

“Be quiet and get into the bag,” Law directed. “We're right outside the facility. I suspect that Caesar will be in the main laboratory, along with one woman. I'll try to draw them out of the room. I want you to find out about the drug while we're gone. Shooting Star, what will you do?”

Yusei stretched out a hand as cannon fire went off in the background, receiving a green bird which split into many pixels once it landed on his forearm. “I'll find a way. Still...”

“Still, if you could reach the Master that easily and you're so strong, why don't you capture the Master yourself?” Chopper pondered. “Then we can take time to find out about the drug.”

“That's my problem there,” Law commented. “I can't do that and that's why I need help from you guys. In any case, I just want you guys to kidnap Caesar. I'll do the rest.”

“Caesar is going to receive a distraction very soon,” Yusei spoke out of the blue.

“How do you-” Law cut off as he heard some Marines shouting.

“ _Oi! Look up there!”_

“ _Something's flying this way!”_

“ _It's a big bomb!”_

“ _No... it's not!_ ”

Yusei face-palmed. “I'm almost afraid to look. Chopper-san, was that Luffy-san?”

“He's with Franky, Robin and Ace,” Chopper informed him helpfully.

“MASTER, COME OUT!” All of them winced at Luffy's volume. “WE'LL KICK YOUR ASS AND KIDNAP YOU!!”

“Go, Luffy!” Chopper bounced about in his bag.

“That idiot!” Law cursed. “I didn't tell him to go up against the Marines!”

“Alright, let's go in.”

Law whirled around to see the back-door already opened. “When did that-”

“Handymen do a lot more than just plumbing,” Yusei pointed to the disengaged locks. “Scientific facilities often have outside hatches that can be manually overridden in case of lockdown anyway. Are you coming?”

“You're so freaking useful, it's almost a waste,” Law commented as he walked in and the doors closed. “Are you sure you'll be fine?”

“Caesar Clown has just tarnished the name of all scientists,” Yusei spoke. The single, flat sentence was reminiscent of the time when this same man wrecked the War of the Best on Marineford against the powers of the world for the sake of one man. “This is unforgivable.”

“Remember the plan,” Law cautioned.

“You should be more worried about Luffy-san,” Yusei commented as both men walked forward. “Chopper-san, you go find out about the drug. I'll be going ahead.”

“Yes,” Chopper agreed. “Be careful, Yusei. Just now Ace might have broken a hand or something.”

“Yes.”

Law walked forward, and then stopped, looking back to see an empty hallway and a closed door. “Wonder who's the more dangerous, the crazy one or the one who enables them?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been neglecting Aki for so long... nerve gas treatment shouldn't actually be part of her education, but let's assume that Aki specialised even more. She's not just a Duelist with monsters; she's a doctor now too!
> 
> To be continued... Please review!


	22. XXI: Ice Fire World

Previously:

“ _MASTER, COME OUT! WE'LL KICK YOUR ASS AND KIDNAP YOU!!”_

“ _Go, Luffy!” Chopper bounced about in his bag._

“ _You should be more worried about Luffy-san,” Yusei commented as both men walked forward. “Chopper-san, you go find out about the drug. I'll be going ahead.”_

* * *

It was snowing all around the fallen laboratory's ruins now, and even then within the encampment itself was warm.

“Ne, Aki, it's hot,” Usopp complained, opening the collar of his coat. “Why did you ask Franky to construct this furnace?”

“Cold would probably wake the children, and worsen the withdrawal symptoms,” Aki informed them as the children struggled awake against her Black Garden, some stomping booted feet and some yelling to be unchained.

“Big brothers, unchain me!” one of them yelled.

“Unchain me!”

“Some toxins caused by the drug can be sweated out,” Aki continued, undeterred as Dancing Fairies surrounded her, defending her as they scattered their soporific dust upon the children. “If he agrees, Law-san can probably use his ability to cut out the methamphetamines in their systems. Right now, we must sedate them and provide a calming environment.”

“You're a really good doctor!” Nami praised. “Chopper said so, too!”

“There are bugs!” a girl screeched.

“Delusions too,” Aki commented as that girl received a faceful of dust and fell back to sleep. “We'll have a problem if they all wake up at the same time.”

* * *

Yes, they had surveillance DenDen Mushi, Yusei noted as he dodged around a corner and entered the locker room. Walking slowly through, he made his way around the next door to find an emergency escape, complete with extremely helpful fire map of the complex. He doubled back, picking the locks to rifle through the lockers to rifle through, pulling out a map someone had stuck onto the inside of his locker door.

Junk Synchron materialised from a nearby vent, giving a thumbs up.

“Thank you, Junk Synchron,” Yusei muttered, pulling a bench stand on and to begin pulling the vent covers. It was quick work despite the scrape of the nails. Yusei crawled in, and the vent was sealed by Junk Synchron, who dissipated the Duel Monster had moved the bench back into place.

“This place is built like several interconnecting gas chambers,” Yusei considered, slowly crawling along to the Synchron monster's lead. “I suppose there are three, four, maybe more independent vent systems to serve the different laboratory buildings. Caesar looks like the only scientist here, so we can probably assume that the rest are former prisoners, like those frozen prisoners. For that poison gas to be effective even in such extremes like Punk Hazard now, it should be inorganic in nature compared to biological weapons like anthrax. From what Aki mentioned, it's possible that Caesar is more of a biologist or chemist compared to a physicist.”

The Synchron led Yusei into another laboratory, where Yusei pocketed several flasks of familiar and not-so-familiar substances, several books and papers, before walking into the storage closet next door and closing the door to change into the gas suit, putting his helmet on.

“H2S... hydrogen sulphide,” Yusei thumbed through more pages, detailing more about the incident four years ago and that-

“He compressed the gas, feeding it the Sara Sara Fruit: Model Axolotl to give it sentience,” Yusei read quickly. “If I remember, that gas can be dealt with using plasma... not that any of us are in a position to create plasma. Well, maybe Ace-san. First, I should cut the power... the problem is, how do I neutralise a few tonnes of hydrogen sulphide? Get a lot of water-”

Yusei stopped as Junk Synchron waved a hand in front of him impatiently. “Right... Stardust Dragon. What am I thinking? But, you guys...”

A thumbs up greeted up.

“...yes,” Yusei stored the papers away into the gas suit, put on the helmet, and walked out to face a grinning Malik.

“Yo,” the Egyptian greeted, holding up another yellow gas-suit in his hands. “I'm here to take over the shift.”

“...that was real?” Yusei echoed, dragging Malik into the storage closet and closing the door. “I wasn't dreaming?”

“I wish,” Malik yawned. “Bakura does stupid things, but selling a template card to get us into trouble has gotta be amongst the most seriously bad things.”

“Template card?” Yusei echoed.

“It's an unwritten, blank card, without a future yet written,” Malik supplied. “Well... it's a bit similar to the Heart of the Cards, or the luck of the draw, but slightly further out.”

A card appeared in his hand, and he presented it such that the back was facing Yusei. “See? Until I flip the card, neither of us know what it is. But it can change to what I want.”

“The Schroedinger's cat thought experiment, of a sort,” Yusei agreed, watching the card flip to show Mystic Tomato, flip, Spirit Reaper, flip, Tribe-Shocking Virus, flip, Exchange of the Spirit, flip. “So it's a bit like personal reality and the opposite of consensus reality.”

“I wish you read light novels...” Malik sighed.

“I do.”

“It's how Espers like the Railgun Princess operate.”

“Oh!” Yusei paused. “You should have said so.”

“I didn't know!” Malik hissed back.

“Then what do you want?” Yusei demanded. “That's your problem to start with, not mine.”

“Right now, that card hasn't been imbued with power,” Malik's face turned serious. “I have no idea what Bakura wants, but with power, that card will gain a conscience too. Who knows how many people will pay with their lives if that card is left alone in its search for more power... not that Bakura would care. But we would be the ones taking the flak from Yami no Yuugi. Yami no Yuugi isn't as heroic as you, but he's more creative.”

Yusei ignored the jibe. “So you want me to retrieve that card.”

“Precisely,” Malik agreed. “It would be in your path. That Surgeon of Death will lead you to him.”

“What's the point of getting me to fight for Bakura?” Yusei demanded. “Bakura manipulated a Marine Admiral! He's got enough power to destroy anyone he likes.”

“Like I know!” Malik replied. “That Marine Admiral was stripped of his post because he was rude to Ryou. Anyway, it's bad for you and your current friends if your enemy comes across that card. It's bad for me if that blank card can't be retrieved. Do you get what I'm saying?”

Yusei narrowed his eyes. “I think so, and I don't like it.”

“You're a stubborn one,” Malik complained. “I don't know about Bakura, but he's doing something for a guy called Roci and that guy is about equally stubborn. Fine. Out of my goodwill, I'm going to help you. Here.”

Yusei caught the card tossed at him. “Skull Guardian? But I don't use Ritual cards... and I don't have the Spell.”

“It's not a weapon,” Malik admonished, walking out with his helmet on. “You can't summon him anyway. Well, then.”

Hane quivered as Yusei walked out, hidden in Yusei's collar. “Yusei-dono...”

“He's dangerous,” Yusei agreed. “I don't quite know what's going on, but let's hurry. Say... is there any chance that any of you will switch honorifics any time soon?”

Footsteps echoed as Yusei walked, and the card felt like a weight in his pocket.

* * *

Outside the laboratory, the D brothers were laughing madly at body-switched Smoker.

“You're... Smokey?!” Luffy then proceeded to fall over laughing.

“Congrats, Smokey,” Ace proceeded to clap lazily. “You've started to experience the joys of women!”

“What's so funny??!” the Vice-Admiral's ire was a thing to behold, especially with the fact that it was Smoker.

“ _Gear Second!_ ” Luffy activated, nearly speeding to clap onto Smoker's shoulders. “In that case, we'll have to save the battle for another time! There's no point fighting you when you're not at full strength!”

The rubber-man nearly received a groin attack in answer. “Don't get cocky with me!”

“Luffy, focus!” Ace made a gun motion towards the Marines. “ _Higan_! You done yet, Franky?”

An explosion came in answer.

“Oi, Luffy, Ace, Robin!” Franky then hollered. “I broke the door, so let's head inside! Charge!”

“Whoa!” Luffy scampered over. “You did it already, Franky.”

“I agree,” Ace commented. “So, do we burn down the lab and wait for that Master, or what?”

“Smo-yan! There's something strange flying towards us!” a random Marine shouted.

“What... is that?”

“Everyone, wait!” Robin called to the running pirates.

Ace turned around to see a purple blob land on the ship that, presumably, the Marines were trying to steal. The blob then continued to swallow the mast, the sails, all the way to the deck, where the blizzard carried over the cries of panicked men.

“What is that?!” Luffy registered.

“Is it... alive?” Franky speculated.

“I have no idea,” Robin answered flatly. “What is that?”

“It fell from the sky, right?” Ace commented boredly.

“Yeah, but it's moving...” Luffy pointed out.

A few moments, or minutes later, the ship exploded in a fireball of noise. Upon the river leading away from the lab, the fire burned, illuminating the blue-green with orange fire that lit the shocked faces of the Strawhats present.

“ _You guys!!!!_ ” Smoker roared.

“Oi, what the heck just happened?” one of the men in gas suits milling about armed demanded from his friend. “Touch it and you get poisoned, burn it and it explodes...!”

“ _Don't look at me! I've never seen anything like it! I can't even tell if it alive or not!”_

“ _Well, whatever,_ ” one of them dismissed. “ _At least it's dead.”_

“ _Y- Yeah... and better still, it killed those Marines who stole the ship and sailed out as well! For us, that was-_ ”

_Splat_ .

Ace absently pointed his finger, then flinched as it exploded.

“Just now... it came from above...” Luffy glanced up.

Franky followed him, open-mouthed. “That's like the one from before...”

“How many are there?” Robin expressed.

“Like I care!” Ace took to the skies in a blaze. “ _Kyokaen_!”

A shield of fire spread out, incinerating the slimes in a blaze of mid-air fireworks as Ace set about burning the creatures before they got to Luffy. Well, partly out of self-preservation, but mostly about Luffy. The brother complex is a strange thing.

“Oh right! Ace has the Mera Mera power!”

“Luffy, I'm going to beat that back into your memory if you forget again!” Ace snarled as green spheres of light surrounded him and the falling slime. “ _Hotarubi_! _Hidaruma_!”

“Shurororo... what a good boy you are!” came a truly creepy and taunting cry. “I'm sorry I've kept you locked up for three years!”

“ _Master!_ ” the men yelled in joy.

“ _Why are you outside?! It's dangerous out here!_ ”

_Even if he is a Logia-user, all Devil Fruit users must conform to some law of nature..._

“Fire Fist Ace!” the being presumably Caesar Clown accused, the blizzards buffeting their wispy-looking enemy's frame. “How dare you do that to my pet!”

“So it's you!!!” Luffy yelled. “Are you the Master?!”

“Shurorororo... Indeed, I am!” Caesar boasted. “Everyone from the Strawhat Pirates, Fire Fist Ace, and the Marines of G-5...! Behold, the greatest scientist in the world: Master Caesar Clown!”

“What the hell are these?” Ace incinerated more slimes, watching the mid-air fireworks. “Slime?”

“Just wait a few more moments,” Caesar gloated. “Since he's weak to water, he's flinging pieces of himself over little by little in order to cross the lake! From the Burning Lands to the Ice Lands, once all the fragments of him reaches this side, you'll all experience it! The chemical weapon explosion that happened four years ago-!”

“Caught you!”

With that, Ace quickly turned off from the conversation, holding his nose.  _It stinks! Like a... volcano!_ Ace fell back to the ground carefully, studying the pattern of falling. He then burned his way across the sky, more explosions falling in his wake.

“ _Enjoumou_!” Ace called once he landed, spreading the fiery net wide until the rest of the G-5 Marines were cut out of the battle, and leaving only he and Luffy, Robin, Franky, Tashigi and Smoker – both having switched bodies, ha! – to face Caesar.

“Let go of me, idiot!” Caesar was trying to shake Luffy off.

“That's what Haki can do?” Franky took off his sunglasses to see better. “I can't believe Luffy can do that. He's grabbing a Logia eater!”

“Logia users don't tend to survive because of Haki, or they really thrive,” Ace aimed at the slimes closely with one finger. “It's not the same as the power of the sea or Sea Prism Stone, and can't actually prevent the enemy from using his powers. _Hiiken_!”

“ _Gomu Gomu no... Bell_!” Luffy Haki-enhanced attack was just barely dodged, even as Ace's fiery projectiles hit.

“You... how dare you?!” Caesar snarled as dense purple gas formed around him and the fire bullets failed, and the purple gas shot to surround Luffy. “ _Gas Robe!_ Shurororo, breathe it in! Over the course of my experiments, I've increase the deadliness of my gas to unfathomable levels!”

Ace dodged out of the way, but spotted the dense purple gas being swallowed by Luffy. “Luffy, you idiot!”

“ _Is he a total idiot?!_ ”

Ace punched the speaker, still aiming before he paused, watching the poison gas stream out of Luffy's ears. “EEEEHHHHH?!” Ace yelled along with the others on the sidelines, copying Caesar's expression.

“ _Cough_... I guess poison gas doesn't really do much to me anymore,” Luffy grinned. “Thanks to Magellan for that!”

“Magellan?!” Ace echoed, recalling the Impel Down raid. “Luffy... you've really suffered... Magellan is going to pay!”

Caesar clearly had the same reaction. “The poison-spewing man in Impel Down...? Don't put me on the same level as a mere Paramecia eater!”

“ _Gomu Gomu no... Jet Mace!_ ” Luffy double-drop-kicked Caesar off the high perch of a dissected warship and into the icy ground.

“ _Master!_ ” the men were yelling again. “ _How dare you do that to our master?!_ ”

“Don't interfere, weaklings!” Caesar howled, charging back into the battlefield.

“ _Huh?”_

“ _Weaklings... Nah, must've heard wrong..._ ”

“Armament Haki!” Luffy hardened his hands. “ _Gomu Gomu no_ -”

Ace cut in.  “ _Souen_ !”

Luffy flipped back as blue flame ate towards Caesar, causing the scientist to retreat. “Ace, don't interfere!”

“Luffy... what are you doing?” Even the Marines stepped away at how cold Ace had turned. “You can already guess what this guy is capable of. Don't screw around!”

The blizzard was melting, changing into heavy rains that began to spatter on the ground, and then freezing as the droplets came into contact with the ground.

“He's... changing the weather pattern...?” Smoker commented, pulling his coat closer to avoid the freezing rain.

“They're weak to water, right?” Ace drawled as the slimes hissed and drew back, expiring as the poison gas began to dissipate in the sudden rainstorm. “Then this is fine.”

Small flames erupted alongside Ace's arms, legs, chest, hat, and even his scars caught on fire. “You guys go ahead first.”

“ _pant, pant_... you people take me too lightly,” Caesar drawled, lifting both hands. “You people already know what I'm capable of?! I am Caesar Clown, the world's greatest scientist!”

“Sorry, but I know a scientist way better than you,” Ace took up a one-handed stance. “And I don't mean Vegapunk. There's a bastard of a handyman who can't sleep 'cause he's always worried about this idiot little brother of mine. If _that person_ was here... it's very strange, but we seemed to have adopted him, you know? ”

He took a deep breath. “Luffy! Go!”

“I got it!” Luffy grinned, running into the lab. “I'll leave that Master to you!”

“ _Karakuni_!” Caesar snarled, giggling as Marines and pirates started struggling for air to breathe. “I've just removed the oxygen from the air! Fire won't work here!”

The flames died off as Ace grinned. “So you think.”

“...eh-”

Something slammed into Caesar which burned white-hot, sustaining itself in time with the falling rain.

“You might be matter,” Ace cracked a knuckle, as he took to the skies after Caesar whom he'd just sent flying. “but I'm energy. I'll boil your insides out through your skin!”

* * *

No matter what he'd expected to find in Vegapunk's old office, it was neither the garbage dump where he'd elected to ditch the gas suit, not the pink dragon that apparently resided within. “Your name is Momonosuke?”

“Yes, that it is!”

“Your father has arrived upon this island to rescue you,” Yusei actually smiled as the dragon's stomach growled. “Are you hungry?”

“Do not speak so foolishly...” it growled. “A samurai does not starve after a mere ten days... to suggest that I would hunger, _haa_...”

“Ten days?” Yusei frowned, rifling through his belt's compartments. “Did you drink water, at least?”

“N- No...” the dragon shook its head. “But who are you, and why have you come here?”

“A samurai might not feel hunger or thirst, but it is necessary for them to live,” Yusei commented, extracting a canteen. “Call me Yusei. Drink.”

“I see, you are also an outsider,” Momonosuke commented, ignoring the drink. “That this place holds sickly children is all I know. I know neither of this island's nature nor what has befallen me. As fate would have it, this began when I stowed away aboard a certain ship. The children showed me kindness, though I cared nothing for them, though I caused such a fuss...”

“So, you escaped the Biscuit Room, found this office and a man-made Devil Fruit, ate that out of hunger and then escaped,” Yusei comprehended after the dragon's long tale.

“In short, I was originally human.” the dragon concluded.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Yusei commented, drawing a card. “Why don't you turn yourself back into a human?”

“W- What?” Momonosuke looked at him. “I- I can turn back into myself? How?”

“I don't know, I'm not a Devil Fruit user,” Yusei finally found the card. “Stardust Xiaolong!”

In a puff of smoke, the blue-green wispy dragon curled itself around Yusei's boots and purred.

“You can summon dragons?!” Momonosuke shouted, before nearly fainting with hunger.

“They're my friends,” Yusei answered, picking up the Stardust Xiaolong which curled around his neck like a satisfied snake. “Still, we should get out of here.”

“I want to get out of here, too, and tell those children the truth!” Momonosuke insisted. “I heard it! What that Caesar guy was talking about... I thought he was a scientist, but he's actually a bad man who's going to let the children die! To him, they're experiments for his subjects, and if this continues, they'll die in five years! And the kids have no idea... I feel sorry for them. If I don't do anything, I'll have shamed myself as a samurai! I was on my way to tell the children, but I fell down here when I tried to hide in a trash can... and I don't know how to get out...”

“Caesar... this is unforgivable!” Yusei growled, the angry expression that swept his face one of true rage. “Get ready, Momonosuke. I'm taking you with me out of here!”

“Eh?” Momonosuke looked at him in awe and respect. “How?”

“There's a side entrance,” Yusei pointed. “Don't worry about the children, my _nakama_ already went to save them! They always follow through, so don't worry.”

“T- Truly?!” Momonosuke started.

“Yes...” Yusei drew a card as Stardust Xiaolong winked out. “Please lend me your strength.”

Flame surrounded them, that Yusei was able to pick up the awestruck Momonosuke and carry him around his neck. “What is going on,  that it is ?”

“Discard Quillbolt Hedgehog to special summon Quickdraw Synchron,” Yusei commented as the two monsters appeared, one cocking guns in salute, and the other squeaking in acknowledgement. “Quillbolt Hedgehog is revived when a tuner monster is on the field. Tuning, level two Quillbolt Hedgehog to level five Quickdraw. Clustering minds will now become a new force! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Blaze on, Nitro Warrior!”

Fire erupted about them, and Yusei braced himself as the green-armoured warrior appeared in a blaze, engine roaring. “I'll leave it to you.”

The warrior acknowledged the request as Yusei slung an arm around the Warrior's shoulder, and they started flying.

“W- We're flying!” the pink dragon howled.

“Brace yourself!” Yusei warned. “Nitro Warrior, Dynamite Knuckle!”

* * *

The laboratory left standing in the wake of a disaster should have been unsettlingly silent.  It was the way of life; disaster zones without habitation were silent lairs of despair and remnants of life, clinging barely to the ghosts that one populated them. Punk Hazard was like that; an island that did not seem to exist, much like air that was hardly visible and yet ever-present. In one part, three members of the Straw Hat crew were running; in another, Law was getting beaten up.

“You can't fool grown-ups, Law,” undercover Donquixote operative Vergo was in the midst of an extremely long lecture. It would have been more serious if not for the hamburger patty stuck on his face.

“I just overlooked you, Vergo,” Law would have spat back a pithy reply, if not for the sudden earth-shaking that was intensifying.

Something crashed through the concrete; right below Vergo, a conflagration of flame that had Monet taking to the air to get away began burning, and Vergo threw himself, tossing a certain heart into the air-

“ _Room_!” Law switched the heart into his hand, securing it into his chest as he watched the green-armoured thing land, and the Strawhat handyman disengage from it, a pink reptilian thing like a horned dragon curled around his neck like some perversity of a Kuja snake.

“You have... surprisingly good timing,” Law offered.

“Are you alright?” Yusei asked, turning away from Monet.

“More importantly, enemies!” Law shouted as Monet's face turned into one with sharp teeth.

“Shooting Star – two hundred and ten million Beli,” Monet placed, reaching for the DenDen Mushi by her belt. “The man who wrecked Marineford... Master!” she called into the DenDen Mushi.

“ _I see..._ ” came the familiar drawl of Doflamingo as the eyes of the snail changed to become slanted and vaguely avian. “ _This is immediate priority, you guys. Kill him._ ”

“Three,” Yusei counted as he barely dodged a Shigan, rolling to avoid ice picks being stabbed into his body. “Two. One-”

The lights went out.

“Oi, oi,” Vergo drawled. “Did you think you could escape just by turning off the lights? My Kenbunshoku Haki can sense your presence!”

A roar and an explosion resounded, masking their footsteps as Yusei and Law ran off, having sent the dragon and the warrior ahead. “A bomb?”

“Worse,” Yusei shortly replied.

“What's worse than accidentally planting a finger in a bomb?”

“...Stardust and I share the same presence.”

Law started laughing as behind him more blasts broke walls, shattered ceilings and Monet screamed. “You set a dragon on him?”

In time to their running, the lights were shutting off one by one, darkness trailing in their wake.

“You shut off the lights?” Law kept laughing. “Where are we going?”

“You haven't been very honest with us, Law-san,” Yusei admonished. “About SAD, and Caesar.”

That wiped the laugh off of his face. “And what are you going to do?”

“Destroy it.” Yusei glanced back. “Any problem?”

“No,” Law commented. “Can I understand something... why? With your power alone, right now, you could have become one of the Four Emperors. Why do you still remain just a handyman? Don't you have any ambition?”

“The only ambition I had in the first place was to protect my friends,” Yusei replied. “So I won't leave them behind. That's just it. ”

“You'll be fine discarding your life for others?”

“I'll be fine- move!”

Law choked as he was pushed out of the way. “What?”

A grimace across his face, Yusei glared back to the man who had just jabbed a finger into his shoulder.

“So you're the Shooting Star,” Vergo commented flatly, drawing his finger back. “I don't know why you took my Shigan in his place, but this is fine. Joker just ordered your death.”

Yusei gaped as his throat was grabbed and he was slammed against the wall. “Go... the room... destroy it...”

“Vergo...” Law growled.

“Your dragon hurt a lot, Shooting Star,” Vergo continued, slamming Yusei like a rag doll against the wall once more. “But its size difference won't allow it to reach here. Law, should you take a single step, I will snap his neck with my hand. Joker ordered that the Shooting Star must be killed.”

“Doflamingo must feel threatened, especially after the War of the Best,” Law commented, seemingly relaxed.

“The Strawhat Pirates must be blessed with a run of luck, to gain two such talents,” Vergo agreed. “But their luck runs out here. With my sword, I will run him through.”

“You... don't have a sword,” Yusei spat back.

“You're right,” a stick of bamboo was held up. “I'm not a swordsman. Any words, Yusei Fudo?”

“Trap card...” Even with his throat caught, Yusei grinned as light shone throughout the darkened hallway. “Shooting Star!”

Stardust Dragon bellowed as it spread its wings wide, bidden by the trap to unleash a destructive blast. Black enveloped Vergo's skin, but not enough as the concussive blast hit Vergo at velocity slightly lower than the speed of light in vacuum with a concussive force that drove Yusei and Vergo through several walls and thus from Building C into Building A of the main laboratory.

Arms spread, Yusei fell down and was caught by several arms; a pair of rubber arms, a pair of metal arms, and several replicated ones.

“Sorry, Luffy-san...” Yusei whispered. “I overdid it.”

“Ah,” Luffy drawled. “Did you get what you needed?”

“Yes, but Chopper-san...”

“Chopper will be fine, shishishi,” Luffy assured. The laugh died as something dripped.

“This is... Shigan!” Robin diagnosed as a _swish_ echoed.

“Franky, take Yusei back to the Sunny,” Luffy drawled. “Something might have happened to the rest too. Robin, Chopper-”

“Leave it to me,” Robin assured as Yusei found himself held in a fireman's carry.

“Luffy-san- but, Stardust Dragon-”

“You're going to die of blood-loss at this rate, Niichan,” Franky drawled as he ran out.

His voice raised, Luffy's bellow could be heard even over the Coup de Boo – and its ensuing stink of stale cola. “YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TRIED TO KILL YUSEI, RIGHT?!”

More wreckage, and the flap of white wings silhouetted against the darkened winter skies gave way to darkness in Yusei's view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ace alive and travelling with them is a terrible plot hole. The thing about the Dressrosa arc is that right now I'm being hampered by the previous plot-hole. For one, Ace alive = no Mera Mera = very little chance for Sabo to appear. Second, how to link the Punk Hazard and Dressrosa arcs after the mess I've made of them.
> 
> My original plan involved Yusei seemingly taking on characteristics of Donquixote Rocinante, but that's way too many echoes of the Scottish play. It might be fun, but I doubt Doflamingo is so sentimental as to fall for the ghost trick.
> 
> By the way, do any of you guys want to see Xyz Monsters in this fic?
> 
> To be continued... Please review!


	23. XXII: Ice Fire Egg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the reviews! An overwhelming number of suggestions placed that Doflamingo should offer the Gura Gura no Mi in place of the Mera Mera no Mi – since I made a giant plot hole in this fic in writing the crossover where Ace survived and Whitebeard's corpse was vaporised by Stardust before Teach got the Gura Gura power.  
> This suggestion will not be possible for the following reasons:
> 
> 1\. The Gura Gura no Mi is a power that can literally reshape the world AND destroy it. If it resurfaced, everyone and their mother would be assuredly after it, including the Marines. There's no way Doflamingo would let the Fruit out of his possession, since it would bring the Four Emperors and the Navy on his a**. The Mera Mera no Mi is 'safe' since, despite the power it grants, it's clearly not invincible, and it still exhibits the far reaches of Doflamingo's influence since he can acquire it and simply offer it as a prize in his circus. A chess-master like Doflamingo wouldn't make that kind of risky bet, especially in the jeopardy that Caesar's kidnap is already placing his life's work in.
> 
> 2\. While Sabo might be interested in the Gura Gura, LUFFY would not be necessarily motivated to acquire the Gura Gura no Mi, even if Ace wants it. Doflamingo's whole point of offering the Devil Fruit as a prize is to distract Luffy from Law's plan. Thus, Luffy must go after the prize for Doflamingo's gambit to be successful, but there's no guarantee that he wants Whitebeard's power, since in his view he'll just beat the new wielder up and win.
> 
> With those considerations in mind, I am putting up a plan for the Dressrosa arc to form. Since I have screwed up Punk Hazard so much already, I think I'm just going to continue my best onwards.
> 
> Also, in between Punk Hazard and Dressrosa, I'm going to write a non-canon arc. **Huge Revolution: Black Whirlwind** is thus declared a spin-off that is not necessarily canon, and the events will be rewritten to take Punk Hazard and the mess I made of it into account. Since this is exam season for many people, including me, please be patient!  
>  – LLS

 

“ _Hissatsu: Bakusui Boshi_ _!_ ” ****

“Rose Tentacles!” Aki called, restraining several of the giant children as the Sleep Star took effect. “I'm sorry, children...”

“Aki!” Usopp yelled. “What do we do?”

“I'm sorry...” The vines tightened, children roaring as the building kept collapsing around them.

“What are you talking about, Aki?” Nami protested, still conjuring Milky Balls. “You're a doctor of the ship! You've been so cool and helping all this time... if it was Usopp and me alone, we wouldn't make it!”

“I'm sorry... that we didn't find you sooner!” Aki's tears kept dripping. “I'm sorry you had to suffer, and you probably will suffer after this. It's going to be a long, painful treatment, and I don't know if the growing process can be reversed. Even so...!”

One of the metal beams caved in with a crash, and a cough. “Ugh...”

“Oi, someone just fell from the sky!” Usopp pointed, walking over to peer at it. “You...”

“Is this... heaven?”the man peered up.

“As if!” Usopp slapped him.

“Oh,” the bleary pale-skinned horned man leant back to stare at the wall. “I don't care anymore... I just wanted to beat Vegapunk, and now there's an even better scientist out there. He's done nothing at all...! He's just a pirate...!”

“Ah...” Usopp followed his line of sight to the wall of equations. “Ah, that's Yusei's scribbles. Let me just-”

“Stop!” the gas man pleaded, almost desperate. “If I must die, then let it be as I am looking at these jewels of science.”

“Jewels?” Usopp peered at the wall, backing away from the clearly insane man. “I don't quite know, but okay...”

“Who is he?” Nami demanded as Usopp left them.

“No idea,” Usopp shrugged. “He just wanted to stare at Yusei's equations.”

“So my existence is reduced to this...” Caesar murmured. “I was beaten by a fellow scientist...”

“Have any of you seen Caesar Clown?” Ace demanded as he ran in. “I just sent him flying- ah, what's this?”

“God, thank you that my pride was saved with not being beaten by a meat-head...” Caesar continued. “I poisoned an entire island of prisoners, duped a bunch of idiots as my staff, and ordered the kidnapping of children for experiments. Forgive me, for I have sinned...”

Ace turned to look at Aki.

“What?” Aki demanded, offended. “I didn't do anything to him.”

“That evil Master that did all that to those kids, would lie to his subordinates, and strut around like a peacock under the delusion of his unaccountability under Donquixote Doflamingo?” Ace retorted, looking back at the scientist. “I must have hit his head harder than I thought... Are we still holding him hostage?”

“ _That's_ the Master?!” Usopp squawked. “We've got to trap him!”

“Yusei managed to steal a set of Sea Prism Stone cuffs before,” Aki volunteered.

“What a reliable man...” Nami, Usopp and Brownbeard simpered.

“Wait!” Nami snapped out of it, jabbing a gloved finger at Brownbeard. “Why are _you_ joining in?!”

“T- The Shooting Star saved me without expectation of reward...” Brownbeard sniffed. “I... we were enemies, and he still saved me from the Yeti Cool Brothers...!”

“Is he alright?” Usopp turned to Aki.

“Why ask me?” Aki muttered, clutching at her forearm. “My arm...”

“Aki?” Nami asked as Aki glanced at the glowing claw outline on her left arm.

“This...” Golden cat-eyes flew wide open. “Yusei is in mortal peril!”

“But, we need a doctor to protect the children,” Usopp persuaded. “Besides, he's with that Trafal-guy and Luffy. He'll be fine.”

Aki looked torn. “That's true... but...”

“Chopper's on site too,” Nami joined in as the children began to stir. “He'll be fine, Aki. So... we have to do what we can.”

“...sorry,” Aki shook her head. “I panicked. The children take priority now. We need to increase the heat here. Is it... hard... breathe...?”

Without turning around, Ace punched Caesar. “Ow!”

“There's nothing wrong with the air,” Usopp tested with a long luxuriant sniff. “Not even after that samurai...”

“Aki?” Nami slowly moved, being careful with Sanji's body. “Aki, are you alright?”

“I... I feel weird,” Aki realised, stepping back into the Black Garden. Immediately colour returned to her cheeks. “Ace-san, did you see any other sources of poison gas?”

“Poison gas?” the elder D repeated. “There was some purple slime creatures, but they exploded.”

Aki turned towards Caesar now. “What was that?”

“Hmph,” Caesar turned up his nose. “Like I would tell a simple girl playing at medicine.”

“...I see,” Aki echoed as her forelocks fell to cover her face. “It can't be helped. Mark of the Rose.”

“What?” Caesar froze, struggling as the rose mark appeared in his face. “W- What's...”

“Now,” Aki stated, as an awestruck and terrified Nami and Usopp watched on. “ _What is that poison gas_?”

“Scary~!!!” Usopp and Nami screeched, albeit quietly.

The children slept on, untouched and protected by the black garden of death in the cold blizzard.

* * *

“So, two years,” Franky commented as he followed a just-found Chopper with a bleeding Yusei slung over his shoulder. “How did you do?”

“...Kept out of trouble.”

“Oh,” Franky brushed aside some drifts of snow as they reached an examination room. “How?”

“...Unsuccessfully.”

The pink dragon was held onto, wrapped in Yusei's jacket even as Yusei trembled. “The child... dragon... needs medical attention...”

“You need medical attention,” Chopper severely replied, snapping on gloves before quickly producing a pair of medical clippers to cut off Yusei's shirt. “It's good that we didn't move him far, or Yusei wouldn't have survived the blood loss. Franky, increase the thermostat!”

“Super leave it to me!” Franky adjusted the thermostat by a wall. “Is Yusei alright?”

“He's losing blood and moving into shock,” Chopper diagnosed. “Two broken ribs, and one Shigan to the left shoulder, nearly nicking the carotid artery. Please, Yusei...” and here eyes nearly brimmed with tears. “Live.”

He pressed down on the wound. “Is there O negative blood? He needs a blood transfusion, and shock blankets. This could have aggravated the wounds from Fishman Island!”

Franky started emptying cabinets, and finally turned to a fridge. “No, no, no- found the blood! O negative...”

“Franky, press down on Yusei's wounds while I set up a transfusion stand,” Chopper instructed, muttering as snowflakes barrelled in. “This wound could kill him! Franky, keep the snow-woman out!”

“Weapons Left!” Franky kept firing to dissipate Monet's advance. “Dammit... oi, Trafal-guy! You take over!”

“I'm a bit busy!”

“Straw Hat!!!!” Smoker's bellow echoed as a _jitte_ clashed with a _nodachi_.

“White Chase-ya,” Law muttered, backing to back-to-back with Luffy.

“Vergo?” Smoker noticed the other Vice-Admiral, especially as Vergo turned to start trying to murder Smoker as well.

“Oi, get lost! Gomu Gomu no Pistol!” Luffy threw an extended Haki-enhanced fist to knock Monet out of the way and back into her own snowdrift. “Franky, aren't you supposed to move Yusei?!”

“Chopper said that moving him is too dangerous,” Franky drew back his Strong Right fist. “That snow-woman's trying to screw with the temperature to kill him. Somehow they're trying to assassinate him.”

“Straw Hat Luffy, with a bounty of four hundred million Beli,” Monet licked her lips. “Cyborg Franky, bounty of forty-four million Beli. Is this a tag-team?”

“You! Why are you targeting the injured ones?!” Luffy growled.

“Isn't it strategic to remove weaker pawns first?” Monet smirked, wings fluttering. “Vergo did a good job, nicking the Shooting Star on a vital artery with a Shigan. Your handyman probably won't survive the blood loss. Joker would be pleased that this large potential wild card has been killed. _Fubuki_.”

“Franky, I'll leave Yusei and Chopper to you!” Luffy's skin steaming with fury now. “ _Gear Second_!”

The battle was, comparatively speaking, over in seconds. Especially as Sanji and Zoro arrived with Brook and the samurai, Kin'emon, in tow to help out, Monet found escaping, defeated and terrified out of her mind. Especially since Law made a bargain with Smoker and Tashigi for the Navy soldiers a chance to settle against Vergo. During this time, no one knew exactly what had happened to the other soldiers and centaurs, but it was definitely clear that they were holed up and hiding now that Caesar was defeated. The battle really reached its climax as a black-covered Vergo, standing over the bodies of a defeated Vice-Admiral Smoker and almost-fly towards the monstrous trio, black-covered bamboo staff raised.

Law drew his sword and cut Vergo in half... and the laboratory... and the building... and the mountain...  In this process, the SAD manufacturing room also faced its destruction, quite coincidentally, and also a foreshadowing of great chaos for the Donquixote family.

“It's been two years since the War of the Best,” the Surgeon of Death drawled as Vergo's sliced body collapsed. “Did anyone actually accomplish anything? All Doflamingo did was stay calm. All Whitebeard did was end the era. The Navy Headquarters rounded up new forces. The big-timers didn't take any actions. It was like everyone was just preparing for something. That war was only a beginning. The new era of the daring ones is coming along with an unstoppable swell!”

He grinned. “The gear... is broken. Now, there is no turning back!”

* * *

“Chopper told you not to move,” Franky pressed a few minutes later after Chopper had just left, but said no further as he walked out of the examination room.

Booted footsteps echoed down the hallways, spiralling out in that labyrinthine silence that left behind a father's tearful reunion with his so-turned-dragon-turned back to normal, the exhaustion of a team who had fought a good fight and was going to regroup with the rest and bring the children over to the laboratory.

The footsteps echoed – with only one trip – until they silenced abruptly, and his feet carried him to the room where Monet had found the self-destruct button. Joker, or the Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo, had given the order for the base's destruction, and Monet with it. Now Monet, eyes lidded with the knowledge of certain death, lifted the safety cover from the button and depressed it.

“Eh?” the snow-woman echoed in surprise. “W- Why? The self-destruct button should have worked...”

“ _What's wrong?_ ” Doflamingo drawled through the DenDen Mushi.

Monet turned around as a shadow fell into her view. “You're-”

_Bang_.

In Caesar's pocket, a heart stopped beating. Monet's eyes lay wide and open, staring at whoever had shot her with, for some reason, a Haki-enhanced bullet. Grey matter spattered the banks of buttons and screens. The DenDen Mushi watched on, silent and unmoving, and in Dressrosa, Donquixote Doflamingo watched as the snail transponder made a tap, two taps, three taps-

And hung up.

The DenDen Mushi crawled away as the flintlock was dropped into Monet's hand, and the man walked out, back into the examination room, and lay on the table.

On the same table, Yusei Fudo awoke at Chopper's yell about going out alone, even to the toilet. The only thing was, he didn't remember a toilet trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to add, I wish this chapter had turned out differently.
> 
> To be continued... Please Review!


	24. XXIII: Shooting Star

“ Aki, we're going to run out of stuff to burn soon,” Usopp called. “What do we do? We can't all just stay within this creepy garden...”

“We need to get the children off the island,” Aki declared out loud. “The children might be vulnerable to cold and disease, with those giant bodies. But, the real challenge is the cold turkey treatment. Surgery might be required as well, and that would take too long. Kicking a drug habit is going to be a long and heavy process that we can't implement. With the resources and time we have now, it's impossible. And those slimes are blocking our way.”

“Shurorororo!” Caesar cackled. “I don't know what happened to me, but Slimey will kill all of you! After all, he's my creation, the hydrogen sulphide gas from four years ago compressed and fed the Sara Sara no Mi! No matter what you do, you can't fight him-!”

“Shut your mouth,” Aki snarled at him. “Nami-san. Can you make it rain?”

“Rain?” Nami stuttered.

“Hydrogen sulphide will dissolve in water and protect us,” Aki confided. “Worst-case scenario, it'll decrease the concentration of gas to manage. Ace-san, please raise the surrounding temperature.”

“That's simple,” Nami smirked, pulling out her Clima Tact before walking out. “ _Weather Egg!_ Be born, rain! _Rain Breed Tempo!_ ”

Thunder resounded from the far end as the rain started falling. The black clouds overhead fell with freezing rain, warmed as a sea of fire spread overhead, heating the freezing rain to slightly warm raindrops. The slimes cringed, rearing back en masse.

“Will that just work?” Usopp asked as Nami walked back into the Black Garden.

“Probably,” Aki replied tersely. “I don't know why, but Black Garden is filtering the contaminants out, that's why we're safe for now. The gas itself is deadly to begin with, and the conditions here aren't suitable for hyperbaric treatment. Furthermore, hydrogen sulphide poisoning is a broad-spectrum poison, so treatment will be more difficult than just this.”

“Shurorororo,” Caesar laughed. “I, Master Caesar Clown, am truly the world's greatest scientist to have created such a poison-”

“Treatment involves immediate inhalation of amyl nitrite, injections of sodium nitrite or administration of 4-dimethylaminophenol in combination with inhalation of pure oxygen, administration of bronchodilators to overcome eventual bronchospasm, and in some cases hyperbaric oxygen therapy,” Aki rattled off, ignoring the scientist. “I don't have the required medicines on hand.”

“We could set it on fire, right?” Usopp frowned.

“Combustion will create a massive cloud of sulphur dioxide gas, which is toxic, irritating to the eyes and can cause serious injury or death,” Aki stated.

“The winds that result from the extreme of the Burning and Freezing Lands could take care of that,” Nami suggested. “So, we can take care of the slimes with Ace's power. The problem is the other gas produced, and danger to Ace as well. The safest and most immediate solution is to wash all the slimes and the gas away.”

“Boring,” Usopp muttered, squinting as a large figure trundled towards them. “Eh?”

“Oh, you guys are here?” Franky hollered. “Luffy and the others have captured the main laboratory. The fight's over. What's with the rain?”

“They're weak to water,” Nami replied.

“Good job,” Franky praised. “I'm going to find Sunny. Need anything?”

“My entire pharmacy,” Aki replied. “We're going to wake the children to get them to the lab. Can you put Caesar on the Sunny? And would you need help guarding Caesar?”

“I'll go!” Usopp quickly raised his hand. “Guard duty is perfect for me!”

“The fight's over, why are your knees shaking?” Ace pointed out.

“S- Shut up!”

“Preparations,” Aki raised her arms as Caesar was carted off in a Fiendish Chain. “Dancing Fairy, remove.”

The dancing fairies disappeared, leaving only a garden of black roses and vines. Slowly, the children stirred awake, to be greeted by them.

“Good morning,” Nami greeted them with a smile. “Is everyone alright? Alright, right now, you've all been deceived by Master Caesar Clown. We didn't like it.”

“We beat up the Master and seized the lab,” Ace added. “Now, we're going to find a way to send you all back.”

“Will we get candy if we go back?” one of them asked.

“No,” Aki replied, eyes hidden by her bangs. “None of you must ever eat that candy ever again. If you do, you will _die_. None of you will ever live to grow up.”

Silence fairly reverberated around, leading to more crying, horrified stifled tears, and gasps.

“None of you were ever sick to start with,” Aki continued. “Some of you have giant bodies. That is proof, that Caesar is experimenting on how to turn people into giants. Through the hundreds of years of experimentation, not a single experiment has worked. This experiment is probably doomed to failure. Caesar probably knows that, and to prevent any of you from escaping, he gave all of you that candy. That candy is actually a deadly poison. It will destroy your body before you know it. And, once you eat one, you'll crave another, and it will be even more difficult to get away from Caesar. Right now, from the side-effects of the candy and the experiments, before you grow up... you'll die.”

“Hang on, Aki!” Nami turned to Aki. “We don't even know that yet. Don't frighten them.”

“They have been lied to long enough,” Aki snapped. “Also, as a doctor, I have an obligation to tell my patients the truth.”

“W- We can't even become adults...?” Mocha echoed, her voice empty. “We can't see our parents again?”

“We never even thought about that...!”

“We asked you for help because we wanted to get home!” Synd bellowed, the ground shaking with the force of his stomp. “We were afraid to stay here for another year without knowing what disease we have! B- B- B- But... we never thought that we were gonna die...”

“We thought that we could grow up to be adults!” Mocha cried, amidst outcries of denial. “That's not what we've been told! We ate the candy because they gave it to us! We never thought that we were gonna die from it!”

“We know!” Nami protested. “It's none of your faults! That's why we can't forgive Caesar! We're not going to forgive him!”

“I'm sorry...” Aki bowed low to all of them. “I'm sorry... that we didn't find you sooner! Please accept my apologies, on behalf of the world... this cruel world!”

“We...” Mocha sniffed as a large block of rubble narrowly hit them. “Nee-san... we don't want to die!”

Through the sniffles, a boy blinked at the vacated space where the rubble had been. “Oi, look! What's that?”

“Light?” Synd blinked.

“What?” Nami moved to watch. “There's no way... that...”

Slowly, the children moved as one outside to watch, and the pirates followed them. There, against the backdrop of overcast skies; wings spread wide and stardust trailing in its wake, tail whipping in the wind, head thrown back to bellow in defiance as its body was consumed bit by bit...

“Stardust's anti-destruction effect activated...” Golden catlike eyes watched as the dragon's wings spread, and it faded into a burst of stardust. “Exactly what happened...?”

“That dragon...” Synd pointed. “It's white, and pretty... although I can't see it very well...”

“I know!” a smaller girl pointed. “I saw it, two years ago on the DenDen Mushi! I saw it at Sabaody! That dragon... grants wishes!”

“Really? M- Maybe it came to grant our wishes?!”

The Black Rose Witch had barely moved since the roof was about to collapse. “We can't stay here any longer! Nami, Ace-”

“I will help,” Brownbeard grimly volunteered his service; yelling at Caesar Clown's refusal to help him had been a huge wake-up call. “I deeply apologise! But, this time...”

“There are some things you gotta do as a man,” Ace agreed.

The roof broke, and rubble fell outside as rain poured in. Ace blinked as the rain poured upon his minor scuffs. “Oi, Aki... is this rain supposed to heal wounds?”

“Heal wounds?” Nami blinked, examining Sanji's body which she was still in.

Aki bore a calculating expression before comprehension dawned. “No... maybe it's just one of those Grand Line things.”

“Maybe,” Nami agreed, watching as the light faded.

Silence had reigned; a silence of peace and hope, if not exactly satisfaction. The rain was dying, and with it the remnants of Slimey had dissolved and now lay on the snow. Due to the factor of temperature in any system of thermodynamic disorder, the cold would keep the crystals of hydrogen sulphide dissolved in water hopefully frozen, possible for all eternity.

As the children walked out on Brownbeard's lead, Aki walked by the side and picked up a card, smiling as she caught up to the rest.

“Oh?” Ace looked back at her. “Did you find something good?”

“Yeah,” Aki held up the card. _Rain of Mercy_ glimmered on its card name. “The world is merciless... but, it's also beautiful.”

* * *

The Thousand Sunny managed to make it around to the laboratory harbour at the same time as the children, prompting cheers from Chopper and Luffy as the Franky Shogun made its appearance, with the assassins from Dressrosa and the team of mostly swordsmen – and one cook in a female body. Since everyone was mostly fresh, it meant that Baby 5 and Buffalo had been shot down via Gomu Gomu Red Hawk and retrieved shortly.

“Honourable Father!” came a cry of joy a few minutes after the splash and the fishing out of the water and aboard the Sunny.

“M- Momonosuke!” Kin'emon bellowed, enveloping the boy in his arms.

“Oh,” Brook noted the boy's half-shaven head. “So that's the Momonosuke-san that Kin'emon-san has been looking for!”

“Yes!” Then Kin'emon looked down. “Oh, you're naked, that you are!”

“Somehow things went to plan,” Law commented from his perch next to a Yusei bundled in what must be the laboratory's entire store of blankets, courtesy off Yusei. “Oi, Shooting Star. Want to join my-”

“I told you to stop!” Luffy slapped Law upside the head, accidentally hitting Yusei.

“Luffy!” Chopper's turn to yell. “Yusei just got out of surgery! Don't aggravate his wounds!”

“Oh, sorry, sorry,” Luffy smiled, though it was a degree lower than expected, for anyone versed in Luffy's expressions. “Did you guys get lost, Sanji?”

“We did not!” Sanji hotly protested. “Before that, get me a camera! Yusei, you're like Doraemon, you can produce a camera out of that tool-belt, right?”

“Cameras don't work in such extreme temperatures, Sanji-san,” Yusei flatly replied.

“You're the worst!” Sanji was sobbing now. “And I've just gotten into Nami-san's nice body...”

“Idiot cook.”

“What was that, marimo?!”

“Oi, guys!” Nami's clear voice cut across as the Sunny sailed into view. “Wait- why are there Marines here?!”

“Don't worry, Nami!” Luffy bellowed back. “We've negotiated a truce!”

“Don't overdo it, Straw Hat,” Smoker spat back, pulling another cigar and puffing it. “Trafalgar might have put us back into our bodies, and we might have a temporary truce because of Vergo, and I don't report Trafalgar to the authorities... but it's for my men, and the reputation of the Marines. If your men didn't protect them...”

“Yeah, whatever,” Luffy smiled. “But thanks for the assist! If that snow-woman wasn't stopped by that girl swordsman, Yusei might have died!”

“Y- Yeah...” Chopper smiled and laughed nervously. “Yusei might be clinically dead if not for her help.”

“I- I was just doing my job!” the new Captain Tashigi pointed to Zoro. “Roronoa Zoro... is that the named sword, Shuusui?”

“You sword otaku!” Zoro yelled back.

“Smo-yan!” One of the G-5 Marines yelled. “We should arrest these guys! Vice-Admiral Vergo was-”

“Shut up!” Smoker bellowed back as a horde of children marched around to gawp at them. “Vergo tried to kill all of us! Vergo was a shitty criminal mole who messed around with the Navy! And... why are there giant children here?”

Smoker's face continued to gain an interesting purplish colour that nearly spread to his smoke as Ace jumped from the Sunny and onto land. It got an interested stare from Law, especially as the children started exhibiting withdrawal symptoms in the midst of his pseudo-interrogation, which then got a suspension by three separate medical authorities and Tashigi.

“What are you doing?!” Smoker's puce turned dark as he was faced with the ire of the Black Rose Witch. “Step aside. Drs Chopper and Trafalgar will be with me, working up some form of treatment. There's no escaping the fact that they have a long and painful treatment ahead of them, but we should do what we can first.”

“J- Just because you call me that won't make me happy, Aki~”

“I was serious, Dr Chopper,” Aki sighed, already listing by the side. “Dr Trafalgar, your unique surgery skills are required. Will you accept?”

“Was your magic not enough, Dr Izayoi?” Law enquired.

“At this stage, is the extent of what I can do,” Aki murmured quietly. “Please.”

“...” Law silently walked up to the children, and then turned to Chopper and Aki. “Do not look into the room.”

The three doctors set to work immediately, ignoring the Marines and something about the boundary between good and evil. Said boundary dissolved as fast as the time for Franky's repair of an old tanker at the port and Sanji's completion of hormone soup with sea pork to be completed.

“They saved my life, and yours!” Kin'emon declared to Momonosuke. “So... let us trust them!”

“I... can?”

“Yes! You haven't eaten anything besides that strange fruit that turned you into a dragon until today, have you?” Kin'emon's loud cry was punctuated with sniffs. “That's my son! But it must have been hard on you! It is fine now, that it is! Let us hope that everyone else is fine, too! Now, let us keep living, Momonosuke!”

Yusei sat, twitching uncomfortably and chafing to get to work except that somehow he was stuck on pain of doctor's orders. Surprisingly enforced doctor's orders. Robin was even keeping an eye on him. Plus, whatever painkiller Chopper had injected still made him woozy. And now the D brothers were annoying Smoker. Footsteps echoed, and Yusei turned his eyes onto Tashigi. He did not speak. He waited. There was the bottomless patience that could handle a D on the worst of days, and not even a Marine woman's righteous fury would withstand it.

“Please let us send the children home,” Tashigi slowly spoke.

“I don't decide that. Please ask Nami-san.”

“You seem to be the most reasonable of the Straw Hat crew,” Tashigi replied. “You also seem the most reliable. Normally, a pirate wouldn't go as far as to stake their own life to protect civilians. Why?”

Even the Marines were picking up on it... this was getting to be an overblown joke. “ I thought this would be the right thing to do. There is nothing wrong in saving many people's lives. It doesn't matter: pirate or Marine, criminal or police, human or any sentient being. The fact that I am a pirate is secondary.”

“That attitude would have been better for a Marine,” Tashigi looked shocked. “Pirates are criminals who hurt people and cause great amounts of harm and break the laws. Why...? Why aren't you a Marine? Your sense of justice is far more... is it money? How could you have sold out your conscience for that?”

“That thing called justice changes form, depending on how you look at it,” Yusei reflected. “I am grateful to you, Captain Tashigi, for protecting my _nakama_ at that time. I offer you my thanks. But I think we have deviated from the true subject at hand.  Nami-san promised the children. You should bring up the matter to her.”

Sensing that the conversation was nearly gone, Tashigi tried another tack. “You are a pirate... and you don't find this sense of justice weird?”

“'Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.'” Yusei considered as a sea breeze passed by, bringing the scent of simmering sea pork and the cries for a Tashigi-chan. “Your men are calling for you, Captain.”

Tashigi backed slightly, and feeling rather awkward and also like she just got reproached. “S- Sorry.  You must be in pain.  I won't take up any more of your time.”

Smoker just sighed as Tashigi walked back. “Tashigi.”

“Let justice be done, though the heavens fall...” Tashigi echoed. “Yes, Smoker-san?”

“Why did that guy join Straw Hat?”

“I don't know. He's still on painkillers.”

“Damn,” Smoker swore. “No info.”

“It's Smoker!”

“Portgas!” Smoker snarled back, already half-turning into smoke in fury. Several Marines were making zombie comments. Smoker would have preferred it if the annoying Fire Fist had become a zombie under Shooting Star; surely, Shooting Star could...

“He's not a zombie,” Yusei replied before Smoker could voice anything. “Although that's a favourite costume for Halloween.”

“I didn't ask!”Smoker shouted at him, truly unnerved.

After a lot of crying, more dogezas, and Yusei having to struggle from Momonosuke's enthusiastic thanks and the ensuing out-pour of gratitude from Kin'emon, somehow things worked out. Never mind Chopper's scare when Law diced the children to cut rotten bits out of them; never mind the hostages and the fact that they were going to piss Doflamingo off; never mind the Marines of G-5 taking a tsundere approach. Which could have been a lot worse, Yusei reflected as Stardust Dragon erupted from the water and started fussing over its master, prompting mass panic and awe from the laboratory half-animal guards, the Marines, children and pirates alike.

The banners were put down as G-5 acknowledged the Straw Hat Pirates – and associated – in a big party that probably left some mental scars on Law.

“Pirate Big Bros! Big Sisters!” the children yelled, crying from the aft of the tanker in farewell as it sailed off. “Thank you for saving us! When we grow up, we'll definitely be pirates!”

“ _Don't do that!_ ” the Marines bellowed as one.

Even as the  party wound down, the  children aboard the tanker with the  about half the battalion of  Marines and sailing for home at last  waved goodbye, and Punk Hazard was left. A life raft and its grisly cargo was set off, and the Thousand Sunny prepared to sail. T he Shichibukai kept a prominent eye tic on, as if awaiting some form of chaos in their wake,  and the laughter was merely a prelude to the insanity of the crew .

“Captain,” Ace applauded, pride apparent in his grin. Perhaps leftover schadenfreude from Smoker's pain was also involved.

“Let's go!” Luffy called. “Set sail!”

“YEAH!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... that's the Punk Hazard Arc!
> 
> I felt like my writing negated Mocha's sacrifice and a lot of the issues with Vergo and Doflamingo's influence. I mean, Mocha's sacrifice I can probably accept, since you don't need a kid to almost die to drive the message through. It's the thing about Vergo that worries me.
> 
> Also, I think Yusei seems a bit cold here, but let's chalk that up to his stoic personality and the fact that he's doped up to his eyeballs on painkillers. Cut the guy some slack :o.
> 
> To be continued... Please review!


	25. XXIV: The Phantom Knights of Shadow Veil

“ Was it really necessary to leave their heads there?” Yusei questioned Law once the Sunny was out of Marine reach. “It doesn't seem like you, Law-san.”

“What do you mean?” Law asked in the middle of waiting for Doflamingo's presence before a DenDen Mushi.

“I thought you might be the type to throw their bodies into the sea before leaving their heads there,” Yusei clarified. “You did say that they were enemies.”

“Unfortunately, I must agree with Yusei,” Robin commented from her seat.

“ _Ssshhh_! He's here,” Law shushed as a crash resounded through the receiver of his DenDen Mushi. Neither of them missed that he avoided the question. “Well, this is surprising... the boss himself makes an appearance.”

“ _Law..._ ” their DenDen Mushi took on a vaguely avian look. “ _It's been a long time. It's a shame that you're not here._ ”

“If you're looking for Caesar, he's with me,” Law dragged the scientist over.

“J- Joker! Help me!” Caesar pleaded, almost crying.

“ _Where are Baby 5 and Buffalo's bodies?_ ” Doflamingo chose to demand.

“Come now,” Law drawled, seemingly at ease. “Don't ask about such frivolous things. Let's negotiate.”

A beat of silence, before growing laughter. “ _Fufufufu... oi, Law, come to your senses. A brat like you shouldn't imitate what grown-ups do. Where are you now? Don't make me mad. That Shooting Star has already done plenty._ ”

Law gave Yusei a stare, but turned back to the business at hand. “Make  _you_ angry? Right now, your most important business partner is one of the Four Emperors. The great pirate, Kaido of a Hundred Beasts. I'd imagine that it's you who shouldn't make him angry. What would happen if he finds out you can't produce SMILE anymore? Since he's not the negotiating type, there will probably be a fierce battle. He will destroy you.”

“ _Young Master, you're turning blue..._ ” another voice cut in.

“ _Enough with the jokes, Law,_ ” Doflamingo stated. “ _What do you want in exchange for Caesar? Hurry up and name your price!_ ”

Law took a deep breath.  “...resign from the Royal Shichibukai.”

“ _I can't believe this, dasuyan!_ ” the same voice, probably Buffalo, complained. 

“ _Then he can no longer stay at Dressrosa!_ ” Baby 5 added her piece.

“Well... just throw away everything you've built over the past ten years, and become a simple pirate again,” Law commented. “But of course, if you do that, the Admirals of Marine HQ will hunt you down!” A dramatic pause that a certain demon emperor would have loved. “The limit is tomorrow morning. If your resignation from the Shichibukai is in the paper, I will call you. If I don't see it, the negotiation is off.”

“ _... Roci put you up to this, didn't he?_ ”

Silence as Law just blinked, startled. “I suppose, yes.”

Then he hung up. “Yusei-ya... what did you do?”

“I'm not aware as to what you're referring to, Law-san,” Yusei replied, confused at the suddenly hostile expression. Law was glancing between the laughing D brothers and then back to Yusei, as if truly confused. Then he turned away. Yet, a schism must have appeared between them now, as if the Surgeon of Death was re-evaluating his choices... or considering something. Some odd occurrence, some coincidence of fate must have been played at hand.

“It's like we're going down a slope!” Luffy commented as the Sunny turned out of the blue. “What's with these waters?”

“It's a Sea Slope,” Law replied testily. “There are plenty of them.”

“Hmm,” Luffy bounced from his perch to Ace's back, prompting a whine: “Luffy, you're heavy! Get off!”

“But _Ace_ _~_...” Luffy perched happily after a brief struggle. “Nami! Where are we going again?”

“Somewhere called Dressrosa,” Nami replied, back in her own body as Sanji curled up in depression by a corner of the deck. “Trafal-guy said that we'll arrive there not by following the Log, but by a roundabout way.”

“D- Dressrosa?!” Kin'emon demanded.

“You know it?” Luffy jumped off of Ace, the older D scowling at the younger.

“That is the island that we... er, that I wish to go!” Kin'emon replied. “Do you people also have business there?”

“Yeah, probably,” Luffy turned to Law.

“You have no idea what's going on, do you?” Law asked him.

“Nope!” Luffy grinned as Law hung his head, and then turned to Yusei. “Say... Just now you were talking on the DenDen Mushi. Who were you talking to?”

“...Doflamingo.”

“Doflamingo?!” Usopp threw up his hands, nearly hitting Chopper who was treating Caesar's wounds – not very tenderly. “The Shichibukai?! I heard that he's the most troublesome one!”

“The plan is already in motion.” Law drawled in answer. He was already close to developing an eye-tic, although he would insist that the blepharospasm was treatable. Probably. As soon as he got off the ship.

“What plan?” Zoro asked.

“Oh yeah,” Luffy laughed. “Tell us the plan! Everybody, gather round!”

They took it better than expected. That is, only a few shouted to the heavens:

“ _WE'RE IN AN ALLIANCE TO BRING DOWN ONE OF THE FOUR EMPERORS?!_ ”

“Sounds good.” Zoro, obviously.

“Nothing good about it!” Usopp shouted, before taking a deep breath. “Okay, everybody just calm down. Luffy, tell them about the alliance.”

“OK!” Luffy slapped Law's back. “We and Trafal-guy's pirate group formed an alliance! Let's be nice to each other!”

“One member is opposed to this motion!” Usopp raised his hands.

“What's the point of opposing?” Brook questioned, to be answered with awkward swallowing.

“Luffy's mind is already set, isn't it?” Sanji sighed, handing Robin a cup of tea before whispering to Law: “I'm warning you now. You idea of an 'alliance' and Luffy's version are probably a bit different. So be careful.”

“@_@;...”

Ace just started laughing at Law's pitiful expression again.

“So that's why Luffy kept going on about 'kidnapping' which is so out of character for him,” Sanji continued, “Because if you were about to tell me to cook up this weird sheep that you've caught, even I might have taken issue.”

“I'm sure none of us are currently practising humanitarians, Sanji-san,” Yusei answered quietly.

“Shurororo... Don't think you're going to get away with what you've done,” Caesar mocked. “You'll have some real big players after you now, fools! You'll come to understand how stupid you've been, and you'll die! Die- _Ehh_!”

“Oi, Sanji!” Chopper bellowed as Caesar collapsed from a foot to the face. “I'm still treating him! Wait till I finish.”

“When you're done, huh...”

“So, we kidnapped Caesar for this purpose?” Aki asked.

“On Punk Hazard, I asked all of you to kidnap Caesar,” Law continued, “and I destroyed the equipment used to produce a chemical called SAD.”

“The big pirate crews in the New World have their own territory,” Ace understood, possibly due to his post in the Whitebeard Pirates, which was still uncertain. “They command them with countless underlings, like a giant crime syndicate. Usually, even if just a single pirate crew were to rise up against them, they wouldn't even get an audience with the Captain.”

“Exactly what Fire Fist-ya said,” Law nodded. “Since it's still an underground community, they have to do business secretly to avoid the Navy. The trusted and most powerful dealer amongst them is Doflamingo. His alias is 'Joker'. And currently, Joker's biggest client is Kaido of a Hundred Beasts.” 

“K- Kaido?!” Kin'emon stuttered.

“Hmm?” Zoro turned his head back. “What's wrong?”

“Come to think of it, where have I seen you before...?” Ace pondered, steam literally rising from his scalp in thinking.

“No, it's nothing...!” Kin'emon showed both palms, ignoring that Momonosuke had suddenly turned into a dragon beside him. “Wait! What's this dragon?! Is this Momonosuke?!”

“We're after the head of the Emperor, Kaido,” Law explained. “The key to doing that is to reduce the strength of his forces. Recently, Kaido has put in for a large purchase of Fruits. It's a Zoan-type, man-made Devil Fruit – SMILE.”

“So that was what these research notes are for,” Yusei produced a whole booklet.

“When did you steal that?!” Caesar yelled at him as Usopp shouted, having hit his thumb while straightening.

“There looks like there's some risks in employing them, since it's man-made,” Yusei continued. “Still, there's theoretically no upper limit to the number of Devil Fruit eaters that can be employed.”

“Don't say it so casually!” Nami retorted.

“At present, Kaido should have over five hundred ability users in his crew,” Law continued, leading to Luffy and Ace sharing sparkly expressions.

“All in favour of quitting?!” Usopp, Nami and Chopper raised hands.

“Be quiet,” Zoro admonished.

“That number won't be increasing anymore,” Law explained, staring meaningfully towards a blushing Caesar.

“Shu- _Shurororo_...”

“Oh, you're the one who made the source of those Devil Fruits?” Chopper asked him.

“Don't praise him!” Usopp yelled.

“It looks like an application of the 'lineage factors' that Vegapunk discovered,” Yusei read through the notes.

“So Vegapunk is the amazing one...” Chopper walked off.

“Shut up!” Caesar yelled. “Let's see you guys try to make it, idiots that you are! The one who wrote those equations back then might be able to, but the rest of you, _ha_!”

“Yusei?” Luffy asked, turning to the injured handyman.

“I can understand the basis behind it,” Yusei frowned. “But my expertise lies in physics and engineering, not biochemistry. It's actually quite impressive, this application of a theory into reality, just that its application is morally wrong.”

“Joker is finished, either way,” Law stated. “Now, we just have to move on to the next step of our plan. Somewhere in Dressrosa is the factory where they produce SMILEs.”

“So we should go and destroy it, yeah?” Franky asked.

“That's right,” Law agreed. “But our enemy is a business mastermind, so don't get careless. I'm sure he'll retaliate.”

“Dressrosa... and that's where you want to go too, Kin?” Luffy asked.

“Indeed I do!” Kin'emon drew his sword. “A comrade of mine is captured there!”

The continued explanation was halted as the sky darkened suddenly, hail started falling from the sky, and the Straw Hats were forced to make emergency preparations.

“An emergency belt?” Yusei offered to Law and Caesar. “A lot of us keep forgetting them, but we don't often have guests onboard.”

“Thank you very much!” Caesar accepted one, along with Momonosuke and Kin'emon. Law refused. The sinking feeling Law got in his stomach clenched further as the ship itself suddenly blasted off of the water and flew out of the danger zone of giant hail.

“ _YAHOO_!” Ace bellowed in laughter, clutching at the rigging. “This ship is _awesome_!”

“Isn't it!” Franky bellowed in agreement, as the Sunny shot out of danger and to the next great adventure.

The next great adventure started when Kin'emon started attacking Zoro for the named sword Shuusui. And other things. That was really the calm before the storm, anyway...

* * *

Cold and heat clashed in the dead of night. Yellow, orange, red, blue, green and purple gathered to clashed against a shield of pure sapphire; conjured by its master, the six lights continued a battering assault against that pure light manipulated by its mistress. The two combatants clashed, and then fell towards the vast ocean illuminated by a full moon.

Leathery golden wings billowed behind the man wearing a full-face Venetian mask as he regarded the female, whose face bore only a domino mask, a silver stole rippling in the evening winds. The folds of her wide-skirted purple taupe gown with detached sleeves must hold more accoutrements than her mask. It was the complete opposite of the man's simple black three-piece and fanciful black-and-green feathered mask. They were hardly dance partners tonight, though; the armed matching bronze and slate-grey fanned DuelDisks hanging on each of their forearms was a testament of that.

“What are you trying, Draco~?” the girl sang, uncaring of his wounds. “This foolishness must end~!”

“Yes... it must end... Maille,” the man answered, drawing a card from his DuelDisk. “You and I have taken on new masks for this chosen tale. For this farce to end, before anyone else must die, I must kill him.”

“You can't~” Maille insisted, still indulgent as a mother would an unruly child. “Draco, we cannot escape the hand that fate dealt us. You of all people must understand that~”

“The fault lies not in our stars, but in ourselves,” Draco insisted fiercely. “You and I have to take on new names, new selves. The gods of this world care for nothing, only for our emotions and pain. We are ephemerals to them, so why do we serve the eternal?! I'm tired of it. Aren't you? Don't use that voice. It doesn't suit you.”

“... and I wanted to suit the character,” Maille teased. “Don't I look like Harime?”

“She has blonde hair, not black. As much as I look like a Draco,” he pointed out, running a hand through sun-bleached hair, “exactly which Draco?”

“Who knows,” she shrugged. “Our names are false anyway.”

“It suits you,” he observed. “You're going to stop me?”

“I must,” she replied. “You and I are the same type. Why do you defy this purpose?”

“If I explain my reasons, would you let me?” he asked.

“I have been ordered. I cannot give up.”

“I understand,” his DuelDisk snapped out. “I will settle this with you.”

“Duel!” both called.

**Maille: LP 8000**

**Draco: LP 8000**

“I'll have the first turn,” Maille simpered, even as the winds buffeted her skirts in the night's darkness. “Because of that, I cannot draw at the start. I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands [1400/1000].”

The spirits with many hands floated into being next to its mistress, barely fazed by falling at less than terminal velocity.

“A Ritual Deck?” Draco enquired. “Your Queen must be laughing in her mind if she granted you such a card.”

“Then the effect of Manju should be apparent,” Maille pointed out. “I add the Ritual Spell, Nekroz Kaleidomirror, from my deck into my hand. I shall activate Nekroz Kaleidomirror, using as tribute the level four Herald of the Arc Light in my Extra Deck.”

“What!” Draco snapped.

“The effect of Kaleidomirror allows me to summon any number of Ritual Monsters from my hand, provided that I sacrifice a monster from my Extra Deck with the same level as the total levels of the Ritual Monsters to be summoned,” Maille explained. “Herald of the Fabled sleeping within the cold of death, awaken to imbue with your spirit this robe of the gods. Charge! The Nekroz Armour of Unicore!”

Cloak fanning out in the wind, spear raised, the blond magician raised his staff. A single horn sparkled atop his helmet as he floated alongside Maille [2300/1400].

“So this is the robes that can summon the deities of the old ages,” Draco breathed. “The power to imbue clothes with this power, which earned you that title of Grand Couturière!”

“When Herald of the Arc Light is sent to the Graveyard, I can search a Ritual Spell or a Ritual Monster from my deck to add to my hand. I choose the Warrior-type Ritual Monster, The Nekroz Armour of Brionac,” Maille continued. “Then, I discard Brionac by its own effect to add the Ritual Monster, The Nekroz Armour of Gungnir, from my deck to my hand. With that, I set a card and end my turn.”

“Two monsters... you should have tributed Manju if you were going to Ritual Summon right away,” Draco remarked, still floating serenely along. “It can't be helped. I draw, and I activate Foolish Burial to send Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing from my deck to my graveyard. Then, I summon Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing [1900/0]!”

“Wonderful,” Maille breathed as the fiery dragon floated next to Draco. “These Wyrms are the reason for your name, _n'est-ce pas_?”

“Something like that,” Draco inclined his head. “Battle. Suanni, destroy Manju!”

**Maille: LP 8000 → LP 7500**

**Draco: LP 8000**

“I end my turn,” Draco announced amidst the wreckage of the destroyed monster.

“Too bad. It is my turn, and I draw!” Maille teased as Draco landed to ride on his dragon. “I activate the Spell, Preparation of Rites, to add to my hand from my deck a level seven or lower Ritual Monster, such as another copy of Brionac. Furthermore, Preparation of Rites allows me to retrieve from my graveyard the Nekroz Kaleidomirror. I discard Brionac by its own effect to retrieve from my deck the Ritual Monster, The Nekroz Armour of Trishula.”

“Brionac, Gungnir, Trishula... those three?” Draco commented.

“I activate the Nekroz Kaleidomirror once more!” Maille called. “Using the Schritt, Caster of the Nekroz in my hand as the entire tribute, I Ritual Summon! Dragon of the Ice Barrier sleeping within the chill of death, awaken to imbue with your spirit this robe of the gods! Awaken, The Nekroz Armour of Trishula!”

Wings spread wide, the warrior that appeared upon the field hovered, holding his sword with absolute authority. Plate and chain-mail armour of silver-white covered his body, almost like the very scales of the dragon itself had been worn upon him [2700/2000].

“This Trishula shares the same effect as the original!” Maille boasted. “So, that dragon in your graveyard, your only defence monster, and a random card in your hand is banished. Tricoteuse Defarge!”

“Frightening,” Draco mumbled as his card and two dragons crystallised over. “At this time, I activate the effect of Effect Veiler from my hand to negate The Nekroz Armour of Trishula!”

“Is that all~?” Maille commented lightly as Effect Veiler looped a veil around the Trishula warrior, but still allowing him flight. “Effect Veiler negates Trishula this time.”

“You still have two large monsters on your field...” Draco admitted, albeit reluctantly.

“Trap card, Aquamirror Cycle,” Maille simpered, holding down her skirt from a particularly strong gale. “I shuffle Trishula back into my deck, and then I retrieve both copies of Brionac sleeping in my graveyard >=).”

“Two copies- so that's your aim!” Draco snarled in realisation.

“I discard one Brionac to retrieve the Ritual Monster, The Nekroz Armour of Clausolas,” Maille smirked. “Then, I discard both Brionac and Clausolas to retrieve from my deck Trishula and one Ritual Spell; the Nekroz Exomirror. I activate the Nekroz Exomirror, using the Schritt in my graveyard as the entire tribute!”

“What?!” Draco yelped as a particularly cold wind swept at him.

“Precisely,” Maille agreed. “Nekroz Exomirror allows me to banish Nekroz monsters from my graveyard to fulfil the sacrifice, and Schritt can be used as an entire tribute for a Nekroz Ritual Monster. Therefore... Dragon of the Ice Barrier sleeping within the chill of death, awaken to imbue with your spirit this robe of the gods! Awaken, The Nekroz Armour of Trishula!”

A cold breeze swept at Draco, and with it the corpse of his fiery dragon, the Effect Veiler in the graveyard, and another card in his hand. The arrival of the icy warrior once more did not improve his prospects [2700/2000].

“Let's try this again~” Maille smirked. “Tricoteuse Defarge!”

Draco winced as his monster disappeared, along with one in his graveyard and another card in his hand.

“Trishula, direct attack with Three Needle Bindoff!” Maille demanded. “Unicore, direct attack with Chiengora!”

Draco curled in on himself, willing the icy blasts as they lashed out at him, ice crystals scratching at his skin as they flew by.

**Draco: LP 8000 → LP 3000**

**Maille: LP 7500**

“With that, I declare turn end,” Maille chuckled.

“It's my turn,” Draco drew. “I draw! I summon Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing [0/2000]. I then send two Yang Zing cards from my hand to special summon from my deck two monsters, one with zero attack power and the other with zero defence power. But, these monsters will be banished at the end phase. Appear; Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing [0/2000], and, Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing [1900/0]!”

“Is that all?” Maille commented, barely glancing at the purple, blue and red dragons. “I discard Maxx “C” from my hand to draw one card each time a monster is special summoned to the field this turn. That's one card.” 

“...fine,” Draco replied. “For I tune the level two Bixi and level four Suanni to level two Jiaotu! Blessed stars of the dragon's children, gather here and now with power to burst into hypernova! Synchro summon! Fly: Baxia, Brightness of the Yang Zing!”

The great yellow dragon uncoiled itself sinuously from its appearance from the Synchro rings, giving a quiet roar that reverberated across the falling field [2300/2600 → 2800/3100].

“Two cards,” Maille simply drew.

“Suanni powers up the Synchro monster that uses him as Synchro material by five hundred points in both attack and defence power,” Draco commented. “And Bixi protects the Synchro monster that uses him from trap effects. Furthermore, Baxia has an effect that allows me to target cards equal to the number of original Attributes of the Wyrm-type monsters used to summon him and shuffle them into the deck. Base Building!”

“Too bad,” Maille smirked as the gold light faded. “Unicore's Basting effect won't let you!”

“What?”

“Unicore negates the effects of all monsters that were special summoned from the Extra Deck,” Maille explained. “So, your monster is nothing more than a beat-stick at present.”

“Then, I'll just have to destroy your monster!” Draco snarled. “Battle! Baxia, destroy Unicore!”

“I discard Gungnir by his own effect. This turn, Unicore cannot be destroyed!” Maille did so almost lazily, raising her arms to block the worst of the dragon fire.

**Maille: LP 7500 → LP 7000**

**Draco: LP 3000**

“Dammit... I'll set one card and end my turn,” Draco declared.

“My turn. I draw~” Maille declared. “I activate the Spell, Pot of Dichotomy. I shuffle Herald of the Arc Light, Brionac and Gungnir into my deck to draw two cards, however, I cannot battle. I shall set a card and end my turn.”

“I draw!” Draco rebutted.

“Trap card, Grisaille Prison,” Maille defended at once. “If I control a Ritual, Fusion or Tribute Summoned monster, all Synchro and Exceed monsters cannot attack, their effects are negated, and neither player can Synchro or Exceed Summon until the end of my opponent's next turn.”

“You run an anti-Extra Deck strategy, don't you?” Draco commented.

“Amuse me, Draco,” Maille's eyes glittered even in the darkness, matched only by the silver needles in her chignon. “The guillotine is falling upon you.”

“I activate the Spell card, Yang Zing Path, shuffling the three Yang Zing monsters in my graveyard into my deck to draw two cards,” Draco declared, glancing at his cards. “I summon Bi'an, Earth of the Yang Zing [1600/0]. Battle! Bi'an, attack Unicore!”

“I discard The Nekroz Armour of Decisive Armour to allow Unicore to gain one thousand attack and defence power until the end of this turn,” Maille declared. [2300/1400 → 3300/2400]

“You sadist!” Maille just laughed at the accusation.

**Draco: LP 3000 → LP 1600**

**Maille: LP 7000**

Draco gritted his teeth against the assault. “But, I chain the Continuous Trap, Yang Zing Creation!” Draco called. “On top of the effect of Bi'an, that special summons a Yang Zing monster in defence mode such as Pulao, Wind of the Yang Zing [0/1800], I can special summon Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing [0/0] in defence mode!”

“Wind and Light now?” Maille barely paid the dragons a glance.

“I end my turn with a set card,” Draco gritted his teeth, watching as Unicore returned to normal [3300/2400 → 2300/1400].

“I draw!” Maille glanced at her three cards. “I activate Nekroz Kaleidomirror, using Herald of the Arc Light from my Extra Deck to summon another Unicore from my hand!”

“And I activate the Trap, Torrential Tribute!” Draco laughed as the gales increased in speed, buffeting at both of them as six monsters on the field were destroyed. “Chiwen and Pulao, your sacrifices were not in vain, for here comes Bixi [0/2000] and Jiaotu [0/2000] in defence mode!”

“My monsters...” Maille glared at him. “Your Baxia has survived. Because of the Bixi you used to summon him renders him immune to all trap effects...”

“And, Yang Zing Creation activates to special summon Suanni [1900/0], and I place him in attack mode,” Draco smirked.

Maille released a long breath, still smiling. “Herald of the Arc Light still triggers, so I can retrieve The Nekroz Armour of Brionac to add to my hand. When I control no monsters, I can banish Nekroz Kaleidomirror and one Nekroz monster such as Trishula, to retrieve another Nekroz Ritual Spell, such as Nekroz Illusion. Since I still have no monsters, I banish Exomirror and Clausolas to retrieve another Exomirror from my deck. I activate Nekroz Illusion, using the Dance Princess of the Nekroz in my hand as tribute to summon the Unicore in my Graveyard!”

“Is that even possible?!” Draco snapped. “What kind of cards are those?”

“The cards that can Ritual Summon from nearly anywhere,” Maille commented. “Herald of the Fabled, sleeping within the cold of death. Awaken to imbue with your spirit this robe of the gods. Revive! The Nekroz Armour of Unicore!”

Cloak fanning out in the wind, spear raised, the blond magician raised his staff once more [2300/1400].

“Using the effect of Dance Princess, I retrieve the banished Schritt to my hand,” Maille announced, smirking. “And, I activate Nekroz Exomirror! Offering the Schritt in my hand as the tribute, I ritual summon! Dragon of the Ice Barrier cold within the sleep of death, I invoke you to imbue this robe of the gods with your power! Shine, The Nekroz Armour of Brionac!”

The winged warrior this time bore a short sword, but his heterochromatic eyes glittered [2300/1400].

“Brionac can, once per turn, target up to two monsters special summoned from the Extra Deck, and shuffle them back,” Maille declared proudly. “Your Synchro Monster counts! Brionac, Seam Ripper!”

“My Baxia!” Draco panicked as the large dragon disappeared.

“Schritt allows me to retrieve another Warrior-type Nekroz Ritual Monster when tributed by a card effect,” Maille commented. “Of course, I will retrieve another Brionac, which I use to retrieve another Decisive Armour. I shall send Decisive Armour to the grave to power up Brionac this turn [2300/1400 → 3300/2400]. Now, Brionac, attack Suanni with Herringbone!”

**Draco: LP 1600 → LP 200**

**Maille: LP 7000**

“Appear, Bi'an [1600/0]! Defend me!” Draco called as the orange dragon flared, and the ground seemed ever closer.

“Unicore, destroy Jiaotu,” Maille ordered as the Spellcaster charged.

“I'll just special summon Chiwen!” Draco snapped as the bright yellow dragon appeared. “And another Jiaotu by Yang Zing Creation!”

“I set a card and end my turn,” Maille sneered, spinning around as a wind buffeted at her body as Brionac shimmered [3300/2400 → 2300/1400]. The jungle seemed like a very short fall now.

“That will be your last turn!” Draco boasted, drawing.

“Yes...” the trap lifted. “Trap card, Diamond Dust. Right now there are three Water-Attribute Monsters on the field. Diamond Dust destroys all of them, and inflicts damage to you equal to five hundred points per monster. That is fifteen hundred damage. Enough to kill you.”

“Maille...!” Draco hollered as a blizzard erupted, about to swallow him whole. “Were we born for this reason?! To kill each other?!”

“...Yes.” Maille smiled bitterly. “Please be careful~! Before you die, that is~”

Cold blizzards erupted around Draco, and before Maille truly disappeared, perhaps, a hint of blue could be seen in her eye, a hint amongst the silvery accents of her and the blizzard her monsters were enveloped in before the winds ripped him apart.

“...Oops,” Maille commented as she floated serenely on the wind, supported by her stole and holding onto her cards. “He blew away.”

Overhead, the Thousand Sunny sailed past, unaware of the falling comet about to crash unto them...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, that was a Kill La Kill reference. Yes, the new Nekroz archetype is practically begging for it.
> 
> If One Piece was historically located in the real world, it'd probably be located around the real Golden Age of Piracy (1650s-1730s). One Piece is fascinating to me because it tackles what could probably be the world in the midst of a sort of Columbian exchange. From a certain point of view, One Piece could probably be a pretty accurate reflection of pre-Enlightenment international relations and geopolitics.
> 
> To be continued... Please review!


	26. XXV: Enervating Mist

Back upon the Thousand Sunny, Yusei had found himself under enforced rest by doctor's orders, and chafing a bit. “Chopper-san, I have to fix the Thousand Sunny-”

“No!!” Chopper admonished. “You almost died of blood loss, Yusei! Sunny and your mechanical girlfriend can wait!”

“There's no rush, Yusei!” Franky agreed mid-pose.

“Then, at least let me talk to Master Caesar-”

“ _No_!” Ace and Luffy intervened.

“Letting you mad scientists talk will kill our brains before we even deal with Doflamingo!” Ace declared, to full nodding. “Do you remember Water Seven? Those Galley-La guys, especially Paulie, looked like they were going to tie you permanently there! I almost really died of boredom!”

“You got on _Paulie's_ good side? Nice, bro!” Franky gave a thumbs up.

Across the deck of the Sunny, Caesar was sniffing, staring into the distance as a mourner of the current anti-intellectual wave keeping him away from a truly excellent sounding board. “My sounding board...”

“Didn't Yusei provide most of the ideas?” Sanji asked.

“S- Shut up!” Caesar yelled back, earning a kick to the face.

Yusei was still pleading. “T- Then, a pen-!”

“No,” Zoro admonished. “How long did you go without sleep? You're on mandatory bed rest. Luffy, back me up here.”

“Huh?” Luffy asked, currently sprawled out under the weight of Portgas D. Ace.

“...whatever,” Zoro fell back into default first-mate mode. “Chopper, take him to the infirmary.”

“Should I go along?” Law stood up, pocketing the slim pamphlet he had been reading.

“You're a guest, you should stay,” Robin smiled. “You read Daniel Boater, Captain Trafalgar? I wasn't aware that you kept up with men of letters. _The Economics of Piracy_ is a fascinating outlook.”

“You've read him as well, Nico Robin-ya?” Law asked, neither of them noting Yusei's sudden pause in the background that allowed Chopper to drag him towards the infirmary.

“He makes very ironic observations on the state of the world,” Robin answered. “I heard that the World Government's tightening restrictions of the printing press is partially because of him.”

“I find him to be a romantic idealist, but a good arguer,” Law commented, sighing. “In this age of piracy, he'll forever remain a _nom de plume_. Still, to pen his dream and publish it, even with royal backing, he's got guts.”

“I see that Alabasta is doing well enough to release this man's works,” Robin non-committally added. “After all, this man takes a very scientific approach to the subject, presents a rather anti-monarchical argument backed by Nefetari Vivi herself, and presents questions as if untouched by the cynicism of the world itself.”

All three comments would have drawn blood were they any more pointed. Robin knew that the Crown Princess of Alabasta was an honorary Straw Hat, after all.

“You guys were in Alabasta?” Luffy spoke loudly in the middle of one of Ace's stories. “Did you guys see Vivi?”

“Yes,” Ace grinned. “She really helped us a lot in Alabasta.”

“Vivi-chan? How nostalgic!” Sanji called, glancing back into the galley. “Does anyone want a midnight snack?”

“What is it, Sanji-san?” Yusei asked, narrowly avoiding being burnt by a raging Kin'emon racing after Zoro.

“Oh,” Sanji drawled. “It's pizza.”

“ _Pida_?” Kin'emon mispronounced, sheathing his sword. “Is that man making strange cuisine again?”

“Now that you mention it...” Yusei was still struggling for the deck, but Chopper transformed into Heavy Point.

“I told you not to aggravate that wound for a while!” Chopper nearly freaked. “Yusei! Are you turning into another Zoro?”

“That guy won't die so easily,” Ace drawled in commentary as Yusei was literally carried through the galley.

“Aki, tell them I'm alright!” Yusei shouted, trying to escape.

“Yusei...” Aki's smile turned brittle. “If you wake up before tomorrow morning, I'll tie you to the bed~”

The Strawhat men and even Kin'emon immediately retreated. “Scary...”

“B- But supper-!”

“Later!” Chopper hauled the handyman towards the infirmary. “I'm going to sedate you!”

“W- Wait, Chopper-san...! Let go, please!”

“Good night, Yusei~” Aki waved, still with the serenely psychotic smile.

“I'm so jealous...” Sanji was biting his handkerchief to bits as Yusei was carted back to be put to bed, despite very vocal protests that he wasn't a child.

“Then break your head,” Zoro pointed out bluntly from his slumped position on deck.

Cue the mood whiplash. “What was that, shitty marimo?”

“Why...” Away from the increasing noise of organised chaos that greeted Nami walking out from her bath with Momonosuke, Law just sighed in the midst of discussing the rising academic Boater with Robin. 

“You are considering Yusei, correct?” Robin questioned. “Why he is on this ship, of all places... that miracle that he performed, as one of the only few of us to meet Luffy at Marineford...”

“That doesn't matter, Robin-ya,” Law muttered.

“Your expression reveals nothing, but your very being is eloquent, Captain Trafalgar,” Robin inclined her head, rising from her chair. “That thought has occurred to you. More than once. It frightens you, as it did me.”

Law's lips parted slightly as Robin walked away towards the galley. “Me...? Frightened... what power does hell hold, if we cannot dream of heaven?”

“ _What?! The secret flower garden that is the women's room?!_ ” The effect was sort of ruined by Sanji, Brook and Kin'emon yelling at Momonosuke. “ _You're the worst, you brat!_ ”

* * *

“Say, Yusei,” Chopper considered in the middle of settling the handyman, secretly tucking away his empty syringe. “When did the insomnia start?”

“I've always been insomniac,” Yusei shrugged, wrapped in the bedsheets. “It's fine.”

“But, you sleep fine with the rest of us, and when we were on Fishman Island you slept fine on the Sunny,” Chopper pointed out.

“Yeah, it's strange,” Yusei acknowledged. “It's like the Thousand Sunny is protecting us in our sleep.”

“Yeah,” Chopper agreed. “This is the ship that inherited Merry's will, after all. If the Sunny has a guardian... it must be Merry's will.”

“Going Merry...” Yusei murmured, eyelids growing heavier. “The Going Merry II is named after the original?”

“Yes.”

“I... this is unfair, Chopper-san.”

“You don't say,” Chopper laughed uneasily. “It'll be worse for you if you didn't sleep. How did you manage to sleep when you were a kid, I can't even imagine it.”

“I...” Yusei blinked. “I used to dream that I had giant robot protectors led by Optimus Prime.”

“Really?!” Chopper sparkled.

“ _Zzz_...”

“What's with the 'to be continued'...” the doctor snapped, before slowly closing the door behind him. “Giant robot protectors... Yusei sure has quite the imagination...”

Up on the deck, Usopp, nearly jumped as a splash resounded in the ocean night. A Sea Owl hooted in the distance, and he relaxed, though the spear that Kin'emon had conjured for Chopper and him stayed in his hand.

Waves lapped at the hull of the Thousand Sunny, so deceptively calm that almost neither of them noticed when she alighted by the ship's figurehead. Nearing the ship, a shimmer seemed to veil it, almost too delicate a barrier against most malefactors of the spiritual persuasion.

“How strange,” Maille whispered, almost to herself as she drifted down to the sea level, avoiding the veil as unseen by ordinary eyes as herself. “No ordinary ship would come with its own guardian kobold. That's one location without him, at least... could he have escaped? And I was supposed to retrieve that blank card he stole...”

 _Beep-beep, beep-beep-_ she pulled out a card, conjuring the mirror of the Nekroz to hold up to eye level. “It's me.”

“...”

“He ran,” the masked girl replied as the waves under her feet calmed, and the Sunny was stuck even more than its anchor already guaranteed, idle as painted ship upon painted ocean. Only passing breezes and the relative distance kept her from being overheard. “Why would I know?”

The calm was disrupted as a hand erupted, closing around her ankle. Without even a glance, Maille stomped down, her stiletto heel drawing a thin line of blood as the grabbed leg rose, to find the Yang Zing Duelist dangling from her risen limb.

“I take that back,” she spoke to the mirror. “He's here. I'm hanging up now.”

“Was that your employer?” Draco quietly murmured as he let go, hovering with his own wings.

“Yes,” Maille imparted, legs dangling back down as her stole shuddered in the wind. “Before that, why did you steal that card?”

“Bakura,” Draco replied. “I've just sent it along. If you go now, you could intercept it before it reaches the Thief King.”

Maille frowned, turning to fly in a different direction, but something made her pause and turn back. Silver needles glittered from where they had been thrust through her chignon, and sapphires glittered from her gown as the petticoats fluttered in the wind. “You...”

In the wake of a giant, the seas receded, a giant wave gaping like the lips of an ocean god. “T- That's impossible!!” a certain sharpshooter cried out. “Nami! Tsunami!”

Chaos erupted onboard the pirate ship, but Maille gave them as much mind as one would a fly as she glared at an escaping Draco. “What?!”

“That card, or this ship of innocents,” Draco stated. “Your employers are such human-loving creatures, and I know that you have a soft spot for them as well.”

“You-”

“Curse all you like, Maille,” Draco commented. “If that card is gone, then a large chunk of the Clustering Stars lose their power, as do their Duelist. Messiah Draconis will fall into chaos!”

“If you wish, you can screw around all you like and conquer Messiah Draconis,” Maille's frame trembled with rage as she drew a card.

“Are those lives with finite lifespans really worth caring about?” Draco questioned, head tilted, moonlight gleaming on his mask in pale gold. “It's just one ship out of many.”

“You and yours will never stop at one,” the card was brandished as the silhouette of a dragon seemed to envelop her body as she started to fly. “I'll take you all on! Tricoteuse Defarge!”

Mist billowed, enveloping them, the Thousand Sunny, and the cries of panic were stifled out. Slowly, a breeze cleaved the mist apart, revealing only a shimmering wave immortalised in ice, and a curve, almost like the hull of a ship...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yusei once used the false name Daniel in the animé, and a boater is a type of straw hat. He's still quite an academic at heart :).
> 
> I couldn't resist the Transformers jibe. Especially since it's been lampshaded that the newly-created Jet Warrior looks like Jetfire from Transformers. Also since Accel Synchron looks like a Transformed Yusei Go. :)
> 
> To be continued... Please review!


	27. XXVI: Silver Sentinel

“ First we had a tsunami, and then this fog... what the hell is going on?” Nami exclaimed in the darkness on the deck. “What happened?”

“How should I know?” Caesar mocked from the safety of the galley. “Shurororo, perhaps it's one of Doflamingo's subordinates.”

“N- No!” Usopp screamed, clutching onto the spear that Kin'emon had conjured for him. “I don't want to die!”

“U- Usopp!” Chopper hid behind him.

“Truly, what should we do?” Kin'emon questioned, a bleary-eyed Momonosuke by his side.

“Could it be Doflamingo?” Robin suggested.

“Other than the Gura Gura Fruit, I don't know of a Devil Fruit power that can control waves to such an extent,” Law growled, crossing his arms as he glared at the table.

“No way,” Ace snapped back, standing outside the galley. “Marco would've spread the word if that fruit resurfaced already.”

“Oi, guys!” Zoro called. “We've managed to find someone.”

“Someone?” Aki exclaimed as the swordsman entered, placing a white-dressed girl on the galley table. “A girl?”

“This woman was somehow on the deck when we started searching,” Zoro pointed.

“A fallen angel~!” Sanji's tongue lolled out.

“She looks loaded,” Nami commented, fingering the hem of the ash-grey dress and pulling out a lens to study the blue jewels. “A dress of real silk... and t- these are real sapphires! Those hairpins look like solid silver too!”

Her hand reached out to those dark tresses, and Nami was about to pull them out before a slender hand closed around her wrist. “Wait,” Zoro cautioned, letting go of Nami. “Don't you think this is a bit strange?”

“Strange?” Luffy asked as he and Ace walked into the galley with Brook.

“So, a rich little lady suddenly drops from the sky onto a pirate ship in the middle of a tsunami, and no one thinks this is strange?” Zoro kept a deadpan expression.

“This is a blessing!” Sanji crowed.

“Oi, there's something on her arm,” Usopp pointed. “It looks like a bracelet with a tray or something.”

“A tray?” Aki leant over to study the sharp bladed edge of the so-called tray, joined by a continuous strip of light blue glass and attached onto a bulky-looking wrist device with several square pockets. “This is... a DuelDisk!?”

“You know her, Dr Izayoi-ya?” Law asked.

Aki held up her own DuelDisk. “This girl is probably like me, a Duelist from another world.”

“Duelist?” Franky echoed. “But, what's with the mask?”

“Let's take it off first,” Robin suggested, reaching forward only to get her hand slapped away as its wearer awoke. Nearly everyone sat up as she did. White highlights in the mask blinked once, twice, and settled on Brook.

“Yohohoho!” Brook proposed. “Hi, how do you do?”

A slow blink. “...Very well, thank you.”

“She totally ignored him as a talking skeleton!” Almost everyone exclaimed, face-faulting.

“Where am I?” she asked, smoothing out her grey petticoats.

“This is a pirate ship,” Nami smirked. “We are pirates. So, what's a little lady doing in the middle of the sea?”

“I flew.”

“Flew- you can do that, missy?” Franky looked dubious.

“Anyway, as a fee for saving your life, we need a bit of compensation~” Nami drawled, smiling.

“You're really extorting her, aren't you...”

“Who are you? Do you poop?” Luffy grinned at her. “I'm Luffy! I'm going to be the Pirate King!”

“...I am Maille,” she replied. “Although, that is a false name. I elect not to answer the last question.”

“ _Oi, at least give your real name!_ ” Franky and Usopp commented.

“Or, is your name really that valuable?” Nami's eyes sparkled.

“My name is not needed,” a hand reached up to her chignon, drawing two of the three long needles.

Zoro gripped the handle of one sword, and tension grew in the short galley space. The tension imploded as needle met sword, especially as Zoro fended off her assault and escape towards the galley door.

“Oi, you thickhead, that's a lady!” Sanji's bellow echoed in the fog as Maille and Zoro landed feet-first on the deck.

“Get a clue! She's going to kill us!” Zoro snarled as he dodged and jabbed back against the assault of needles. “Is that...”

“...a knitting needle?” Ace exclaimed.

The double-point needle was twirled in one hand, before closed in a knife-like grip as the girl shifted into a stance. The night-lamps dangling on either side of the deck were alight, light reflecting off of sharpened blades and needles and sapphires that flashed as their owner dashed and moved to strike at Zoro.

“What kind of monster is that?” Nami exclaimed as Zoro was forced back with another strike. “She can take on Zoro!”

“More importantly, the Sunny will be damaged if they continue!” Franky scolded as a needle was nearly embedded into the foremast and near a shrieking Caesar.

“I got it,” Zoro sheathed two swords, holding only Wado Ichimonji. “ _It_ _t_ _ō_ _r_ _yū: Yakkodori!_ ”

“Three Needle Bindoff!” Maille managed to fall away from the crescent-shape projectile of compressed air that cut through the mist behind her and much of the Sunny's rigging with the help of a shield of three knitting needles.

“ _That's not an excuse to break the ship!_ ” Usopp and Franky yelled at him.

“I missed,” was Zoro's rejoiner.

“I'll take care of it,” Law stepped forward. “ _Room_!”

Maille stepped back as the domain formed, her ash-grey gown switching to form a gold-collared white sleeveless dress. “ _Mes_ !” Law stabbed forward, though he frowned and pulled back when a needle with a strip of cloth tied nearly embedded itself into his shoe.

“You're strong,” Maille told them. “So am I.”

“Izayoi-ya, you said that she's probably like you,” Law commented. “So, did she negate my power?”

“No,” Aki replied, glaring at the other Duelist. “It's that dress.”

“Say...” Zoro commented. “That dress of yours just changed colour. And your combat power just fell with it.”

“Yes,” Maille replied as her dress morphed back. “This Forbidden Holy Dress prevents its wearer from being targeted or from being destroyed, but at the cost of some combat power. However, it's only a temporary state. Now, where am I?”

“This is a pirate ship, we've already told you!” Nami exclaimed.

“I have nothing against pirates,” Maille replied. “But... I have no money on me.”

“So you're going to fight your way off for just that reason?!” Usopp and Franky face-faulted, yelling at her. “Don't screw with us! There's got to be a limit to selfishness!”

“Well, it's alright,” Law set away his sword. “Strawhat-ya, this is your ship.”

“Yep,” Luffy turned to Maille. “Oi, Sparkly.”

“S- Sparkly?!” the girl shouted.

“Are you hungry?” the captain totally ignored her. “I'm hungry! Sanji, food!”

“Anything for the ladies~! Luffy, you just ate >=(!” Sanji yelled with two different personalities.

“Oh, that's settled,” Nami turned back to Momonosuke. “Were you frightened?”

“Nami!” Usopp irately turned to the navigator. “We got into this misunderstanding because of your greed in the first place!”

“I'm sorry...”

Seated at the captain's left a while later, Maille sipped a handle-less cup of green tea. “As stated, my name is Maille. Obviously, it's a fake name.”

“Then what's the point of telling us then!” Usopp yelled back.

“What's with that mask?” Luffy asked, starting to pick his nose.

“This?” A slender hand reached up to it. “This is my identity. Masks like these are important amongst those of my... country. I am sorry, but I do not seem to have your names.”

“I'm Luffy,” Luffy grinned, pointing to the relevant figures. “You fought Zoro, that's Nami, that's Sanji dancing in the corner, Usopp's the one with the shaking legs, Chopper's behind him, Franky's the cyborg, Robin's beside him, Brook's the skeleton, Aki's beside him. Kin'emon and Momo are free-loading off us for the trip, Trafal-guy's in an alliance with us, and Caesar is the guy we kidnapped. Oh, right, and this is Ace, my big brother. I'm the captain of this pirate ship. I'm going to be the Pirate King!”

“My name is Momonosuke, that it is!” Momonosuke yelled back before they got into a fight.

“Why's that guy here?” Nami snapped. “Chopper, take him out.” 

“...I see,” Maille accepted it, turning away as Caesar was led out by Chopper and the door closed. “I come from the legendary archipelago of Messiah Draconis.”

“Messiah Draconis?” Law started. “There's no such place!”

“It's fine,” Luffy grinned, holding Momonosuke in a headlock. “It's close to here, right? So we can drop her back on the way!”

“Hold on a moment, Luffy!” Nami complained. “We don't even know how this guy dropped from the skies yet! This guy shouldn't divert our course at all!”

“Shishishi, but it's an adventure!” Luffy reasoned. “If this island is near, then the Log Pose shouldn't be affected much, and we can get a break before Dressroba! Right, Trafal-guy?”

“It's _rosa_! Dress _rosa_!” Law heaved. “And we don't even know if this island exists, much less how to get to it! Don't forget, Strawhat-ya, we still have our task to do!”

“No rush, no rush,” Luffy grinned, which was when the Surgeon of Death started to bear the start of a truly black expression. “Say, did anyone feel that? Like something is moving below us...”

“It's the current,” Nami dismissed.

“But, how the hell did you fall from the sky?” Usopp asked.

“It's a long story,” Another sip.

“We still have time,” Zoro snapped. “Or we could throw you overboard now.”

“You're the worst, Zoro!” Sanji and Usopp yelled with Kin'emon chipping in.

“Truly the worst!” Brook agreed.

The eyes in her mask widened as he backed away slightly, but otherwise gave no reaction. “I see.”

“You're not scared of being amongst pirates, missy?” Franky drawled.

“She's like me,” Aki stated. “A Duelist.”

“You too?” Maille turned her head in alarm, right hand moving towards her DuelDisk.

“Please calm down,” Aki replied. “We're not going to do anything. But, would you tell us what happened to you?”

“I... Messiah Draconis is composed of six main islands and several smaller ones,” Maille related. “Those six islands are ruled by six main tribes. The queen of my kingdom, hoping to build up relations with the Clustering Stars tribe, sent me there as a hostage.”

“Hostage?” Nami asked, frowning as the ship trembled. “Franky, it's time to look at the Sunny's suspension again.”

“OK!”

“Political authorities or generals would legally agree to hand over one or usually several hostages in the custody of the other side, as guarantee of good faith in the observance of obligations,” Robin explained. “These obligations would be in the form of signing of a peace treaty, in the hands of the victor, or even as mutual assurance in cases such as an armistice. In such a case, hostages are usually of noble extraction.”

“Another kingdom sent a hostage, a boy that I call Draco,” Maille continued. “We grew up as fighters with the Clustering Stars. But... a while ago, Draco did an unforgivable thing.”

* * *

“ _From this day forth, you will be staying with the chief tribe of the dragon's islands. I expect conduct appropriate to the Gishki.”_

_Her hair tied up in buns, a younger-looking black-haired girl stared at the yellow-and-green helmeted monster. “You are...?”_

“ _Turbo Synchron at your service, yes!” the Duel Spirit smiled. “And you are?”_

“ _...my queen has named me Maille.” the girl replied. “Maille the hostage. Obviously, it's fake.”_

“ _That's a bit sad.”_

“ _It can't be helped,” the girl tried to defend. “The kingdom is small, and the Clustering Stars are the most powerful tribe of the Saviour Dragon's Islands. We have to do it.”_

“ _It's not that,” Turbo Synchron clarified. “It's that, when you return, the queen will strip you of that name and your memories with it, right? So how are you going to grow independent of her?”_

“ _I... don't understand.”_

_The Turbo Synchron sighed. “You will. We of the Clustering Stars will ensure it.”_

…

“ _My name is Draco! Obviously, it's a fake name, but what's yours?” the gold-haired boy asked._

“ _Maille... also fake,” she replied, fingering a strand of red hair._

“ _Haha! We've both got a name, at least!” he laughed. “Do you want to play? Junk Destroyer got us a fantastic new toy!”_

…

_Even as her hair faded to dark with the powers of darkness within pure silver, Maille stared at the thief attacking the core of the Starlight Road, the site where the Starlight Junktion would be. “Are you so mad for power that you would risk killing their master?! Draco!”_

_A burst of light, and Draco just held up a hand to block the crescent-shaped blasts and the arrows of banishing magic. “What master? Their master is not here, and he probably doesn't know of their existence. Yet our comrades, our friends spend their lives fighting to protect, fighting for the empty throne of an absentee lord.”_

“ _It can't be helped,” Maille insisted. “He's a human, without any cursed or blessed power and only the mildest aid from the Crimson Dragon.”_

“ _So are we!” Draco shot back. “Are you saying that we don't have that same right?!”_

“ _I'm saying that you betrayed us, and the ones who raised and protected us!” Maille shot back. “Give that card back!”_

“ _I don't have time to fight with you, the one hostage who went back to her kingdom and then came back here,” Draco snarled, taking off to the skies, and Maille flying after him._

_They passed over rocky cliffs and wide oceans, into a world rocked by the Grand Age of Pirates..._

* * *

“The core of Starlight Road and the master's soul are one,” Maille explained. “When Draco stole that thing, he endangered the absentee master of the tribe too. More than that, he betrayed the master, and by extension the entire tribe who looks up to that master.”

“But... you said that the master is never around, right?” Usopp clarified. “He's got nothing to do with us either...”

“As pirates, you know of Fiddler's Green, right?” Maille questioned.

“The legendary afterlife for sailors?” Franky questioned. “Yeah. What's that got to do with Messiah Draconis?”

“One part of Messiah Draconis is referred to as Tír na nÓg, or Fiddler's Green,” Maille replied.

Robin's lips parted, Law sat up, and even the D brothers stopped horsing around. “You mean...”

“That's right,” Maille answered, her masked visage growing dark as she drew a five-card hand. “Messiah Draconis is an otherworldly place of Duel spirits. Casters summon its denizens as monsters to do battle, and win glory and power. Normally, humans like their master can never hope to access the place, unless. He. _Dies_.”

“NNNNOOOOOO!!” Nami, Usopp and Chopper freaked and dived behind Franky.

“A refill, _mademoiselle_?” Sanji asked, standing by the table.

“I'm fine, thank you,” Maille stated, taking another sip.

“Still... this means that they never see their master,” Franky commented, taking a gulp of cola. “So how did they know of him?”

“They are the monsters of his deck,” Maille replied. “Your Duelist can probably explain it better.”

“They do,” Aki confirmed, drawing a card. “They see their master all the time. Witch of the Black Rose, come!”

In a puff of smoke, the Gothic Lolita monster popped into being. “Aki-ojou, this is a bit tough for me.”

“...”

“I- IT TALKED?” Luffy face-faulted.

“Didn't any of you ever wonder about the dragons that Yusei and I summon?” Aki questioned.

“Mystery monster,” Luffy, Ace, Zoro and Usopp dead-panned.

“I thought so -.-'...” Aki held out the card. “Read the first two sentences.”

“'Black Rose Dragon',” Nami read out. “'Tuner plus one or more non-Tuner monster. When this card is Synchro summoned, you can destroy all cards on the field...'”

“It's that island-destroying dragon, right?” Ace piped up as Nami handed the card back.

“That was an accident!” Aki snapped, before gathering herself again, producing her own deck. “Anyway, the tribe is probably the monsters in one deck, like this. Usually, decks like these are built to play a card battle game called Duel Monsters. The point is to summon these monsters to do battle and win by inflicting enough damage to the opponent before we receive too much damage. Other than summoning these monsters directly to do battle, we can use magic or trap cards to support our monsters, or attack the opponent.”

“I saw them before!” Franky spoke up. “At Thriller Bark, I asked him...”

* * *

“ _That thing has a power?" Franky studied it._

_"Ah," Yusei nodded. "Er... Junk Warrior came from this game, Duel Monsters.”_

_"Wow!" Franky had stars in his eyes upon seeing the white card in Yusei's fingers. "Cool power! Er... this... What's this 'When this card is Synchro Summoned, it gains attack power equal to the total attack power of all two-star monsters you control'?"_

* * *

“The special ability of Junk Warrior,” Aki figured out, interrupting the flashback. “The power of all surrounding weak monsters becomes concentrated into Junk Warrior as the power of fellows.”

“The afterglow of a miracle,” Law realised.

“It's a card,” Aki confirmed. “Miracle's Wake. It's a card... that can revive the dead at the moment of death in combat.”

“O- Oi! Aki!” Usopp pointed out. “If anyone had such a terrible power, then...!”

“However, the caster uses their life force to cast such spells,” Maille stated flatly. “Also, the power of their spells depend upon their personal willpower, skill and luck. Furthermore, it requires one to discard their own fate to the cards. If one can accept all of those requirements, then a Duelist is never alone. Because, to take on a Duelist is to take on a magician with all of their comrades being eldritch abominations with the power and lack of inhibitions to destroy.”

“So, using these cards, a Duelist can summon spirits from another world to battle,” Aki concluded.

“If the cards are destroyed, it won't damage us permanently, but there'll be a backlash,” the Witch explained in her high-pitched, tiny voice. “It's the same as stabbing us, to explain to you guys. It hurts, and our master or mistress can no longer summon us.”

“You can talk?!” most of the room exclaimed.

“Of course!” the Witch's tiny chest puffed out in pride. “Maille-chan, is that you? It's been a long time!”

Maille swallowed. “You're... the card spirit? Weren't you supposed to be in Black Garden?”

“Aki-ojou is the Duelist of Black Garden!” the Witch exclaimed, looking around. “Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to be at Starlight Junktion?”

“Speaking of which, we got sidetracked,” Usopp cut in, before a thump and Caesar yelling sounded. “Oi, Chopper, don't hit your own patient!”

“...Draco stole part of the island's core, the source of spiritual power between a Duelist and a tribe with an established base,” Maille explained reluctantly. “It was vulnerable because they were moving house, from the Starlight Road to the Starlight Junktion... I gave chase, all the way to this other world, but he made a tsunami to capsize a ship. I... I couldn't let a ship of bystanders get hurt, so... I transported him, the ship and myself to my world.”

“So you took care of that giant wave? Thanks!” Luffy grinned, even as the others started exclaiming about being close to death and being in another world.

“I'm a bit low on power at the moment, but I'll move you guys back the moment I can!” Maille bowed. “I'm sorry for involving bystanders in this...”

“It's alright, Maille-chan~!” Sanji made his noodly dance. “I'll get involved any time you like~!”

“But, the Clustering Stars took you as a hostage, right?” Robin asked.

“They didn't need to, but the Clustering Stars were more like parents to me than my own family,” Maille tightly stated. “They taught me to feel for the heart of the cards, and even helped me learn to fight. Even if I was a hostage, they were my friends, and they treated us as one of their own. From what Turbo Synchron said about their master, he was kind enough to save them and give them a home. I don't know the reason, but I don't want their kindness to end with the master they love getting killed.”

“He sounds like a good guy! Master!” Franky started crying.

“Hold on!” Nami yelled. “Doesn't this sound a bit too clichéd? In the first place, we're supposed to get to Dressrosa! In the second, this master of that tribe has nothing to do with us!”

“But why would Yusei-dono have nothing to do with his deck?” the Witch of the Black Rose asked.

“Yes, why would Yusei have anything to do with-”

Nami stopped talking. So did the entire galley. In fact, silence made an entirely unwelcome visit as everyone absorbed the implications of what the tiny Duel Spirit just said. “You mean, that kind, warm-hearted master that none of the Clustering Stars have ever really seen...” Nami shuddered, sinking back to a seat at the table.

“... is _Yusei_?” Usopp exclaimed for the sake of a stunned pirate crew.

“Oh shit,” Ace commented. “Have you _seen_ his monsters? They're worse than that Hancock faced with Luffy. And those are the tiny ones.”

“I'm going to check on Yusei,” Luffy stood up, running out of the galley towards the infirmary. “Aki!”

“What?” Aki exclaimed, walking across the dining hall to find that, not only was there a giant hole in the side of the infirmary, that Yusei was gone. “Yusei is...!”

“The swaying and the thumps... someone was on the ship!” Sanji realised as a series of thumps resounded outside on the deck.

Luffy snapped across, the door opening out and with the fading mist a mere backdrop to the sight of the Yusei Go's red curve dropping off the railings into the sea.

“YUSEI!” Dark wings took to the skies from the crow's nest at Luffy's bellow of rage.

“No way...” Maille's voice commented behind them. “This ship is protected against spirits! There's no way Draco could have snuck onto the ship!”

“We've got to go after him,” Luffy ordered. “Where is the closest island?”

“The Saviour Dragon Islands, Messiah Draconis,” Maille replied.

“Nami!” Luffy ordered. “Set course for that Messiah Draconis or whatever! Dressrosa can come later, first we gotta save Yusei!”

“...it can't be helped,” Law admitted. “But, we're on a time limit, Strawhat-ya. Let's get him back with minimal fuss.”

“Ace, help me!” Luffy turned to his brother now.

“Of course, you idiot!” Ace snapped.

“Franky, use the paddles!” Nami called. “The rigging and the aft sail were destroyed just now...”

“Let that to me,” Maille stepped forward. “I am a Grand Couturière, after all.”

“Yosh!” Luffy yelled, his voice carrying across the ship. “ _Men_ _!_ Get ready for battle! We're going to rescue Yusei!” Luffy pointed into the distance.

“ _YEAH_ _!”_


	28. XXVII: Card Guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Due to too many plot holes, Black Whirlwind is hereby declared a spin-off, but I'll be using some points I raised in it for this story.

_The story so far: while the Straw Hats were on their way to Dressrosa, a tsunami nearly crashed upon them. They were saved by a mysterious Duelist with the pseudonym of Maille, who transported them into a parallel dimension which contained the mysterious archipelago of Messiah Draconis. In a twist of fate, their handyman Yusei, who had been laid down with an injury, was kidnapped along with his D-Wheel, and the Strawhats are headed with their allies: Maille, the samurai Kin'emon, and the Shichibukai Trafalgar Law, to rescue him..._

* * *

“What's with this condition?” a voice stated. “How did Yusei-dono end up this messed up?!”

“That world is crazy... stabbed with a finger...”

“That stupid boy... anyway, first get the Healing Wave Generator. We'll get a medic.”

Yusei's eyes fluttered, barely open in the stark fluorescent lighting before a mask closed over his nose and mouth. The pressure on his chest was easing, and yet there was a clicking sound echoing around. “W- What...?”

“Send word to Aki-ojou via Black Garden,” a regal voice spoke. “Our Master is fine.”

“I'm sorry...”

“You have only just been born,” the voice replied. “There is nothing wrong with bringing the Master that needs our help to us, especially since we are so close. We all love our Master, after all. Before that, we must retrieve that card.”

_Born? What?_

Yusei tried to speak, but it felt like Chopper had stuffed his mouth with cotton or something, leaving him sleepy and unresponsive. Still, a cool hand touched his forehead, gentle and calm.

“Yusei-sama...” the voice whispered. “Please recover. For our sakes as much as your own.”

Calm washed over him as he fell asleep once more, with the sinking feeling of prediction that yes, the Strawhat crew were going to be losing any semblance of sanity. It was surprising how such afterthoughts could be pretty bleak, was his last waking thought.

* * *

The fog had faded, giving only a clear blue sea. The sun was shining on the sea with all his might. It did his very best to make the billows smooth and bright-

“This is odd,”said Law. “It's the middle of the night.”

Usopp peered up at the giant moon hanging overhead next to the sun. “I think that moon is sulking.”

“Why?” Chopper asked.

“If you ask me,” Nami replied from the bridge, “she thinks that the great sun doesn't have business to be around when the day's over. Maille-chan?”

“That's Sun Dragon Inti and Moon Dragon Quilla,” Maille commented. “They gather here at this time every year.”

“Hold on!” Usopp held up both hands. “The Sun and the Moon are monsters too? What the hell is up with this place?”

“With the repaired sail, we can go a lot faster,” Nami commented, side-eyeing Maille's tube-top and Capri pants, and then at the patched stitches in the sail. “But, did you have to tear apart your own dress? Look, Sanji's still bleeding lots from it.”

“ _Uggh uggh uggh~_ ” Sanji burbled in a mess of blood by a corner of the deck. He was ignored.

“My _toile_ contains stored power,” Maille replied. “By cutting its threads, I can use its power to repair the sails, rather than expend my resources and delay sending all of you back later.”

“There are six main islands,” Law voiced his concern. “Before worrying about the trip back, how are we going to locate him?”

“True,” Robin admitted.

Maille looked up to the sky. “Inti will also be a problem. He has a grudge against the master ever since the fall of the Earthbound Gods.”

“Earthbound Gods?” Zoro commented by the deck, watching the back of their eerily quiet captain on the Sunny's figurehead. Across him, Ace was doing the same. “Another troublesome thing...”

“With my sword, I will slice them!” Kin'emon promised.

“What are they?” Usopp asked.

“They are evil entities sealed into the earth by a great power,” Maille stated. “Of course, being spirits, they can possess people and bodies, and essentially fight as pseudo-zombies by a strange fate repeated every five thousand years.”

“F- Five thousand years?” Chopper echoed. “There's no way anything can live that long!”

“They are deathless spirits,” Maille stated, matter of fact. “It's not too far to call them dark gods who feed on the souls of people to gain power and destroy worlds for their own sakes. Inti has links to them through two of the Earthbound Gods; one is his father, and one his son.”

“And this grudge?” Law asked.

“Fudo Yusei...” Maille stated. “To protect his own world and his friends, Fudo Yusei killed three of the Earthbound Gods, including the father and son. It was a fair duel by ritual combat, so Inti had no recourse for revenge. Now, he and his wife hang in their sky, afraid of descending, and grieve for the family that they lost for a world to gain a miracle. If they meet in this world, who knows what the outcome might be.”

“Hold on,” Aki commented. “I took down Misty- no, I took down the Earthbound Immortal Ccarayhua. What's the difference between that and the three Immortals that Yusei defeated?”

“I don't know,” Maille admitted. “Yet, three Earthbound Gods are truly dead, and wild theories abound regarding him.”

“Gods, spirits and other worlds,” Law sighed. “Strawhat-ya, you've got very troublesome things on now.”

“O-Nami, that sun and moon shouldn't be there, right?” Momonosuke asked the navigator.

“No,” Nami forlornly stated.

“I'm bored,” Ace walked over to the railings, staring at Maille. “So, Sparkly. Any ideas about where Yusei could be?”

“Gale is guiding us to the island,” she replied, the eye-holes of her mask tightening in a grimace at the nickname. “But Draco could not have taken him from within this ship.”

“This ship is special?” Franky posed. “Sunny is extremely super~!”

“Why?” Zoro asked. “What's so special about the ship?”

“This ship bears an extremely powerful guardian spirit,” Maille stated. “While the physical world bears great threat to it, in the spiritual world it is extremely powerful. To threaten a crew member on this ship would have been extremely painful for me, hence I prioritised escaping the ship after I was swept up to it. Draco also elected to use indirect means to sink it, rather than attempt to destroy it by other means.”

Usopp and Franky shared stunned looks.

“These things can be referred to as _tsukumogami_ ,” Maille further explained. “The word is used in the sense that through service, a previously inanimate object can receive a soul and become self-aware.”

“Then the mystery of why Yusei was stolen off the ship can't be solved,” Ace argued. “If you're right, then there are three problematic points. First, its power cannot extend past the ship itself, and the ship as a whole can still be affected as long as no part of the ship is harmed. Second, it cannot extend to physical phenomena, such as tsunamis or blades. Third, that the Sunny is sentient. The Thousand Sunny is a wonderful ship, but there's still a limit to it.”

Usopp fired at him. “Don't you dare!”

Chopper joined in, transforming to Heavy Point. “Sunny inherited the spirit of Merry! Don't look down on Sunny!”

“Are you underestimating this ship that will conquer the seas, idiot?!” Franky hollered.

Leaning back, Maille watched the horizon. “The Walrus and the Carpenter, walked on a mile or so. And then they rested on a rock, conveniently low. And all the little Oysters stood, and waited in a row...”

“ _Gale_ is guiding us?” Nami picked up. “What's a Gale?”

“Not what,” Maille replied. “Who.”

“There's no one named Gale on the ship,” Law muttered, backing towards the galley before turning around to be met with a pair of big red, watery, eyes.

“ _Croo_?”

Luffy jumped up from his special seat as giant dark blue wings that defied aerodynamic proportions flew over his head and circled the Sunny. A head covered in bright green down turned towards him, and the monster then exchanged stares with both Super Rookies of the Worst Generation. Ace paused, watching as the youngest D onboard cocked his head.

“...Luffy?”

The bird opened its beak and let loose another string of notes. “ _Froo_?”

“MEAT!” The captain shouted.

“ _Froo_!” A gale blew past, shaking the ship as the beast took to the skies like a bullet.

“Wait, meat!” Luffy shouted, launching himself after the bird. “I'm going to eat you!”

Flight feathers shimmered as the bird waved them, a cutting wind slicing towards Luffy before it scratched out with its talons and descended to hover about the roof of the crow's nest on which Luffy was now standing on. “You're not going to eat me!”

“It... talked,” Chopper commented.

“It did,” Usopp nodded.

“Yep, it did,” Kin'emon agreed. It was a while before all three shouted: “... _WHAT THE HELL?_ ”

“Oi, talking bird, get down here!” Luffy continued yelling. “Sanji, we're going to cook that bird! Everyone, help me!”

“Che,” Caesar snapped.

“Wait, Strawhat-ya,” Law called. “If that bird can talk, we can get directions from it. We have to capture and interrogate it.”

“Yosh,” Luffy pulled an arm back.

“Wait, Luffy!” Chopper held out a paw. “I'll try talking to him.”

“I don't need a translator!” the bird retorted. “Boss said that all ships must be noted before return to their originating world.”

“So we're really in another dimension...” Law placed a palm upon his forehead. “Oi, bird. Where exactly in this other world are we?”

“I'm not obliged to tell you that,” Gale ruffled his feathers, flying to circle the foremast. “And, I'm not a bird! I'm a Duel spirit, Gale of the Black Feathers!”

A beat, before... “Spirit?” Usopp freaked. “So, like a ghost!? _No_...!”

“Damn...!” Gale cursed. “Sukebanis going to pluck me...”

“You're late!” Maille snapped, back straightening. “Do you even know the situation?”

“She just told me to get you guys through Vayu,” Gale replied. “I just called a sea breeze to blow this ship over. I'm not supposed to be talking to them!”

“Why?” Luffy's arms snaked around Gale, sending both rubber-man and bird plummeting back down to the deck. “You're a talking bird! That's so cool!”

“Let go, you idiot!” Gale flapped fruitlessly. “Oi, Maille! Help me!”

“This is your punishment~” Maille teased.

“I'll remember this!” Gale finally freed himself, leaving a trail of feathers in his wake and a Luffy covered in bumps behind him.

“You were guiding the ship?” Brook commented. “Why did you not appear before us?”

“Ah...it's troublesome,” Gale dismissed.

“Gale,” Aki walked towards him. “Are you the Gale that Crow has? That Gale the Whirlwind?”

“Y- You-” Gale's wings ruffled. “Yes! Sukeban will be glad that the friends of Crow are alive and well!”

“I wish I could say I'm happy, but there is a crisis,” Aki related. “Right now, Yusei is in danger. He has been kidnapped off the ship. It looks like we will require the help of you and the Black Feathers.”

Gale cocked his head, before taking to the skies. “I wish I could help, but here is where I must leave. Vayu will be directing you from here.”

“Vayu?” Aki repeated warily, before the ship tilted. A mass of writhing wings, black as the night, seemed to descend to surround them, the air and sails filled with the flapping of great wings and the cries of vicious-sounding beasts of the skies.

“W- What is this?!” Nami screamed, ducking down.

Flames alighted upon the deck as Kin'emon took to slashing at them, Momonosuke having been secured by Robin. “I truly do not know!” the samurai bellowed.

“Ah! We're gonna die!” Usopp screamed again as he clung onto the deck railings for dear life, the Sunny rocking fiercely as it was buffeted and cosseted at every direction. The sound of rope snapping was audible and Franky's moans that Sunny had to be fixed even more so enough to drown out the sounds of the winds.

“We're gonna die!” Chopper echoed in panic.

“Look!” Luffy yelped, latched onto the deck rails with Ace and Law trapped in his rubbery embrace. “It's a rooster wearing a _gakuran_!”

“Luffy, there's no such thing- There's a rooster wearing a _gakuran_!” Ace yelped as he beheld what Luffy was pointing at.

It stood on a rock jutting out of the sea, at the very pinnacle in the middle of the black feathered storm. Grey feathers lined its wings in the crossed sleeves of the black jacket in question. The red crest on the bird's head was small, but forbidding as the bird carried an expression suggesting that it would very much like to peck one of them. This was Vayu, Grand Flag of the Black Feathers.

“Is it the leader?” Zoro murmured, swords drawn.

“Dunno," Luffy grinned, cupping his hands to shout over the howling winds. “Oi, rooster, can you talk?”

Solemnly, the bird raised his wings to a semaphore position. “One ship of idiots to Messiah Draconis, secured!”

“Aki! Robin! Nami!” Luffy bellowed. “Look, it's a talking bird in a _gakuran_!”

“T- That's Vayu the Grand Flag!” Aki struggled to grip at the railings as the ship floated through at an exponential rate, almost as if on a current. “It's Gale's comrade!”

“Oh, it's a good one!” Luffy grinned, standing up to wave and yell. “Oi, rooster! We're going in to find Yusei!”

The storm of black feathers seemed to lessen, until they were floating amidst tendrils of white that seemed too dense to be simply sea mist, and there was a weightlessness in the Sunny's passage.

“I think...” Nami slowly stated. “We're... in the sky...”

As the Thousand Sunny fell through the cloud cover and towards land, the screaming commenced.

* * *

“Dammit...” Franky cursed as the Thousand Sunny docked itself by the gulf of a forbidding-looking island where Gale found them next, fluttering down from the sky carelessly once the Sunny had impacted onto the lagoon with a grin and a happy chirrup. “You guys really like to surprise us, huh?”

“You got to Messiah Draconis, didn't you?” Gale pointed out, one wing spread like an arm to wave over the lagoon isolated by six main bodies of land.

Ace's fist on Gale's head made the older pirate's stand very clear. “I'm going to roast you! Luffy, help out!”

“Oh!”

“The brother of a monster is really a super monster...” Usopp muttered quietly.

“We can't,” Maille intervened as the crew began disembarking after changing clothes. “Even if he's annoying, Gale is a minion under the Sukeban of the Black Feathers. Those guys cover the communication networks of the archipelago.”

“We must find Yusei quickly!” Aki fretted. “Who knows what might have happened to him?! And, he's injured!”

“Yusei will be fine,” Zoro drawled. “If he dies, that's just how much of a man he is.”

“You have no right to say that, monster!” Nami accused, before turning to reassure the second doctor before a fight ensued. “He's an idiot, ignore him, Aki.”

“This Sukeban and others like her, are they the bosses of the islands?” Usopp asked the couturière.

“For practical purposes, yes,” Maille agreed.

“Sounds interesting,” Zoro smirked.

“Don't try to pick a fight, Zoro!” Chopper cried.

“Our Sukeban will crush you first!” Gale screeched.

“ _Sukeban_ , is it?” Kin'emon commented. “They sound like immoral beings.”

“Don't forget,” Law intervened before both sword-wielding menaces could start verbally eviscerating the mystery lady boss. “Our intention is to find Yusei-ya and get back. The samurai boy will have to stay on the Sunny.”

“I- I can fight too!” Momonosuke sulked as Kin'emon shot down that proposal.

“Including the samurai, we have thirteen people,” Law elaborated. “Nose-ya elected to remain on the ship with Caesar, so twelve people. Will that be enough for the ship?”

“Sunny is spiritually powerful, so she'll be fine!” Luffy flashed a grin.

“...” Law carried even more despair about him at his next words. “...There are six main islands to search. We can cover more ground in teams of three, to prevent us being too thinly spread out-”

“What about Sparkly?” Luffy asked, picking his nose. “Are we having her stay on the ship?”

“Stop that!” the couturière shot back.

“I'll go with Maille-chan any time~!” Sanji's legs spun in a tornado.

“True, Maille-chan has been helpful all this time,” Robin noted. “If we use baby DenDen Mushi, we can probably have Usopp and her coordinate our search.”

“I will also need to restore my power,” Maille considered. “The six islands are ruled by the six Signer Dragons. Each are powerful legends.”

“Signer?” Aki commented. “I might know them.”

“How troublesome,” Ace commented dully.

“Then, we might as well go in pairs!” Luffy announced. “They're Aki's friends, right? So I'll go with Ace!”

There was a flash of orange, and Luffy was tackled by a happy Ace with orange cowboy hat askew, hugging Luffy. “What a bro-con...” Sanji lampshaded, pulling out straws.

The final breakdown ended up with the spectacular arrangement of both D brothers on the same team, leading to the first look at Ace's temper matched with Nami for the first time in history that will forever mark the entry of the man into the annals of Strawhat legend. The conclusion of the ensuing scuffle had the teams of: Luffy and Ace to explore their current stop of Kurohane Island; Brook and Aki sojourning together to the next island of Black Garden; Robin with Law headed to the isle of the Ancient Forest; Franky paired with Nami to the Isle of Life, Zoro and Chopper to the largest island of Crimson Fire; and finally Sanji and Kin'emon headed to check out the final island of Starlight Road.

“But, the Mini Merry won't be able to fit more than four people,” Usopp commented.

“All the islands are connected by bridges,” Maille replied, looking to the coast. “Transport by train is also possible.”

“Train?” Nami blinked. “The islands are connected by train?”

“Yes,” Maille confirmed, pointing to a chugging plume at the coast. “It is coming.”

A large steam whistled resounded with the chugging of wheels as the large engine dragging several passengers cars behind slowed and stopped before the Thousand Sunny with a loud honk.

“A Sea Train?” Nami exclaimed. “But they exist only on Water Seven! There aren't any tracks!”

“What the hell...” Gale shuddered. “Why that guy...”

“That guy?” Nami echoed as the engine lurched.

“You're still slacking off, Gale?” With a whistle, its running gear disengaged, chassis unfolding until metallic gauntlets of hands were formed and it could stand on its stubby legs. Eyes widened above its nose as it growled. “That's just lazy.”

“This guy is also a sort of _tsukumogami_ spirit,” Maille explained to the stunned crew. “He is the inter-island Draconis circuit station-master and chief driver, Steam Synchron.”

“T- T-” Nami stared. “He's...”

“He's one of the monsters that Yusei used,” Aki recalled.

“This is bad!” Sanji exclaimed, alarmed.

“Oh, you're right!” Zoro blocked his eyes from a sudden radiance. “Trafal-guy, close your ears.”

“What-”

Law's ears nearly blew out as Usopp, Chopper, Franky and Luffy expressed their admiration and sudden illumination of the surrounding area the only way they knew: loudly and at the top of their voices.

“ _TRANSFORMING MECHA?!?!?!_ ”

“...the train will be leaving in five minutes. Please board the train now...” Steam Synchron sighed. “I don't get them. I'm not the only transforming mecha Monster around.”

Of course, Luffy heard that. “There are _other_ mecha Monsters?!”

“Starlight Road is entirely populated with them,” the Steam Synchron patiently replied. “That will be the next terminal station of the Draconis circuit. Are you boarding?”

Of course, Law was learning now, that plans were going to be shredded apart by Luffy's whims. Now though, he just stared, stupefied, as Luffy started fanboying – for lack of a better term – over the transforming locomotive, and was wishing for the barrier of sanity that was Yusei Fudo back. This was because, Law was finding that without Yusei, there was no barrier of sanity to get him away from the pace of the Strawhat Pirates, and soon he was going to snap if the handyman wasn't providing a convenient barrier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sometimes get the feeling that Luffy would have been a big fan of the Transformers franchise :D
> 
> Please review!


	29. XXVIII: Overlay Sentinel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story so far:  
> While the Straw Hats were on their way to Dressrosa, a tsunami nearly crashed upon them. They were saved by a mysterious Duelist with the pseudonym of Maille, who transported them into a parallel dimension which contained the mysterious archipelago of Messiah Draconis. In a twist of fate, their handyman Yusei, who had been laid down with an injury, was kidnapped along with his D-Wheel, and the Strawhats are headed with their allies: Maille, the samurai Kin'emon, and the Shichibukai Trafalgar Law, to rescue him...
> 
> … until they were faced with the transforming steam locomotive, Steam Synchron, on Kurohane Island. A totally different crisis was beginning to form...

 

"I wanna ride the transforming mecha!” Luffy wailed.

“No, Luffy!” Nami shouted back. On hindsight, it resembled a bit like a mother with unruly child at department store over a robot toy, except that this robot was slightly larger than life-size. “You're supposed to search this island with your brother!”

“But, a mecha! It transforms! It talks!” Luffy complained, proclaiming to the skies in a fashion described as close to milking the giant cow. “Nami...!!”

“That's right, Nami!” Chopper rallied. “It's a man's dream to ride a transforming mecha! Look at Usopp!”

Said sniper was curled up in a corner, sulking. “Transforming mecha...”

“What are you doing, Usopp?” Sanji drawled, lighting up a cigarette as his sentences proceeded to eviscerate Usopp's robotic romance. “Just because you're watching the Sunny and Caesar, and you're not boarding the train, doesn't mean that you get to slack off. Brat, what are you doing?”

The Synchron monster held out Momonosuke by the collar, and the young samurai boy was sulking. “I wanted to ride the  _karakuri_ ...”

“I'm not a _karakuri_!” proclaimed the station master. “I'm a steam locomotive!”

“You're not helping!” Zoro snarled back at him before confronting the Captain. “Oi, Luffy! You want to save Yusei, right?!”

“Of course!” Luffy started crying. “B- B- But, the mecha...!”

“So what are you lazing around here for?!” snapped the swordsman. “Search this island! Then you can find all the mecha in this place! Are you struggling between your desire and your reason?!”

“I...” Luffy swallowed. “...you're right, Zoro. So I'll search this island first before getting on the train! Ace, let's go!”

“You're really pumped up, Luffy,” Ace lampshaded as he walked behind Luffy, the two of them running off into the green forestry that defined most of what anyone could see of Kurohane Island.

“He's going to wreck havoc,” Law stated.

“...yes,” Robin commented, dull surprise apparent.

Law's dour expression deepened when the rest boarded the train, and the Heart captain scowled further once the train departed with a loud whistle, since they were in the car directly behind the engine.

“Say, your name is Steam Synchron?” Chopper asked, eyes glittering with excitement with his head poked out of the window.

“Yes,” the Synchron replied, trundling along an undetermined path above the surface of the ocean. “You're very curious for a new monster.”

“I'm not a monster,” the Strawhat doctor grumbled. “I'm a reindeer!”

“I see,” was the answer, complete with dull surprise.

“Say, station-master,” Nami enquired, her orange locks rippled in the wind as she stuck her head out of the window to converse as well. “Is your name really Steam Synchron?”

“Yeah,” it replied. “Everyone calls me Steam. Where are you headed?”

“Erm, the Isle of Life.”

“Oh, I hope you like transforming mecha then.”

“Eh?” Nami panicked. “I don't want to! Robin, swap with me!”

“We're going there to search for our handyman, right?!” It was Franky's turn to pop a vein. “Are you looking down on mecha?!”

“Oi, don't yell at Nami-san!” Sanji kicked out at Franky from his seat. “So, Steam. How does this line go?”

A long whistle blew. “We are approaching Black Garden. Repeat: we are approaching Black Garden.”

“This is our stop,” Aki commented, getting up with Brook.

“Yes,” the gentleman skeleton offered the crook of his elbow. “Aki-sensei... would you assist an old man down the steps? This is not an excuse to get close to your panties.”

“As if!” Nami whacked him down onto the thin strip of beach that Steam Synchron had parked himself on.

* * *

Footsteps echoed in the cavernous hallways. The blue light cast from dropped sapphires reflected a flash of teal hair, a celestial stole of silver lamé, and several dragons flying overhead. The Spellcaster crashed through a doorway, panting. “S- Stardust...”

“What is it, Effect Veiler?” Clawed hands dug gouges into the stone walls.

“It's Master Yusei...” the Tuner panted. “He's awake...”

“I see,” the dragon shimmered out of existence, and the female form standing in its place smoothed back the emerald hem of her white peignoir. “Will this do?”

The lesser spirit paused, unsure about the correct response. “Perhaps... Master Yusei might receive the wrong idea?”

“Ah. You're right,” She spun around on one ankle. “I want him to get a good impression. Especially since I let that foundling steal his card.”

“He might misunderstand even more like this,” the Effect Veiler stated. “Your usual wear will be fine. Humans like our Master will be frightened if you visit them in such finery.”

“I see.”

Back in a sterile infirmary type of room, royal blue eyes blinked, unfocused and meandering. Slowly, the owner of those eyes reached up to his face, noting the absence of gloves on his hands. He sat up, finally spotting his clothes neatly folded, and the two deck-boxes laid out on their belt next to his side. Checking inside, he searched the eighty cards between them and was finally satisfied that all his cards were present.

“Where am I?” Yusei muttered, glancing around. “This is... a sick bay? I remember... Chopper-san... then I got painkillers... we talked... I fell asleep... this isn't the Thousand Sunny.”

The tired eyes lost their look immediately as the fact sank in. “This isn't the Thousand Sunny. I have to get out.”

His eyes briefly widened at the sight of the Yusei Go across his bed as he started to change. “Why is my D-Wheel here? Well, I'm lucky. Unless...”

A brief change and check on his bandaged shoulder and the D-Wheel later, and Yusei straightened back up to sit inside the Yusei Go, starting up a systems check. The monitor clicked with all systems running near-optimally before he wheeled the vehicle out through the door and into what looked like a very long and large hallway on either end, illuminated by branches of crystal.

“I have to be careful...” Yusei frowned as the footfalls of two or three approached.

Throwing one leg over the seat of the D-Wheel and pulling out a helmet from under the dash, he started the Yusei Go with a roar of the engine. It shot down the hallway as Yusei hit the horn. Several people – and things – scattered before him, and Yusei drove the D-Wheel even as alarms, shouts and even the hum of several engines started.

Yusei blinked as the visor of his helmet blinked in tandem with the D-Wheel's system. “Huh? Autopilot? 'Underwater system yet to be flushed'...? Why would anyone take a D-Wheel as an escape vehicle?”

The screen began to blare as the rough floor gave way to smooth marble, and Yusei winced as his shoulder bit to the bone during the next trick driving stunt of skidding to do a turn-back and reverse-wheel to perform a three-point turn. “Ow!”

Contrary to Yusei's expectations, the Yusei Go shot off, through a central hub where the hallways seemed to empty into a spot without anything resembling safety railings. From the looks of it, they were going to plummet several stories down, surrounded by glittering crystals as gravity met a hard place. It served as one of the few times Yusei legitimately discarded his poker face in favour of shouting. “HHHEEEELLLLPPPP!”

There was a pneumatic hiss. The shout cut off midway as Yusei beheld his beloved D-Wheel folding and unfolding, the back rest and the arms slotting themselves to become the arms and blue-painted legs of the red body. Its glossy black helmet gleamed in the harsh lighting of the sick bay, along with a shiny exhaust pipe and what looked like the counterweight for balancing the frame. Arms outstretched, it closed around Yusei in a protective embrace, before rider and D-Wheel slammed into marble at terminal velocity, rolling for a bit, and then rotated to fold back into the Yusei Go, a shaken Yusei still clutching the arms that made up the handlebars in correct riding position.

Yusei got out stiffly, extracting the hybrid DuelDisk to attach to his wrist-blader. Eyes never leaving the D-Wheel, Yusei made to move but found himself tripping, to fall back against a large hand. A draft blew against the floor, and Yusei turned around again to meet thick, blue-scaled thighs attached to a muscled, almost human-esque body plated with scaly skin that glittered blue, green and deep white, with an elongated neck that ended in a thin reptilian face and narrowed golden eyes.

“Ah,” came the startled, feminine-sounding voice before the draconic head turned to regard another entity standing on the upper levels. “It looks like you left the infirmary unattended, Effect Veiler.”

“I- I'm sorry, Stardust Dragon! I mean, Master!” the now-identified Duel Monster squeaked as several more Monsters began to congregate around.

“Effect Veiler? Stardust Dragon?” Yusei looked around, picking out familiar companions of his deck. “And my D-Wheel... did it just transform? Did I accidentally build a transforming mecha? Or did you kidnap my D-Wheel?”

With a whirr and several clicks of metal on metal that sounded like a D-Wheel rearranging itself, the red-and-blue figure stood up to about Franky's height.

“Are you my designer, builder and coder, and overall creator, Fudo Yusei?” the transformed Yusei Go – no, the monster spirit – held up both arms in a gesture of peace, speaking in an almost modulated bass. “I am a Duel Monster spirit. My name is Accel Synchron. I have recently become sentient. Though, I have been in service to you since the dawn of my creation as the fifth D-Wheel personally built by your hands.”

Yusei's expression fell into one of dull surprise, as if the world had just stopped making sense. In a way, it has. Usually D-Wheels didn't go into the habit of emulating Peter Cullen. “Erm, er... hi.”

“My scanners indicate that you are going into shock and you are bleeding,” was the mild statement issued when Yusei's hand flopped into something approximating a handshake offer to reveal a blood-soaked palm. The prediction came true when Yusei's knees buckled over and the man fell into unconsciousness, narrowly smashing his face into the raw marble before being caught. “Oh, dear.”

* * *

Aki just walked down and waved goodbye as the train pulled off with a host of walking plant-monsters. It left her veritably alone save for Brook's company. The afro skeleton simply considered, bony fingers tracing the brim of his wide feather-bounded hat. “Where should we begin, Aki-sensei?”

“I don't know,” Aki replied, walking up towards the nearest pathway that was curiously tiled and grass-lined.

Soon the tree line completely enveloped their vision, leaving them walking in a dark forest. Sunlight grew scarcer, and the flowers that bloomed in riotous colour without rhyme or reason. In the distance, a mountain seemed to rise up above the horizon line. With the rhythmic tapping of Brook's sword-cane beside her, it felt a bit like a light garden stroll.

Brook clutched tighter onto the handle of his sword suddenly. “Who is there?”

“Is someone there?” Aki questioned, activating her DuelDisk.

“Yes,” Brook confirmed, drawing his blade, which shimmered in the dim light. “Uhm, Aki-sensei, this garden gives me the creeps. It looks like a demonic garden.”

“I suppose,” was the Black Rose Witch's non-committal reply as she pulled a card. “My servant, Black Rose Dragon!”

Gale-force winds reigned across the field as the black dragon appeared. This time, though, opposite the slender draconic form rose another pair of wings, another serpent profile, and roared back.

“A- Another Black Rose Dragon?” Aki exclaimed.

“Not quite,” a deep masculine voice commented drily.

“Who?” Brook peered around. “I would spot you, but I have no eyes...”

“It is I, Mistress.”

“Black Rose?” Aki guessed, staring up at her dragon. “Is it you?”

“Your dragon can talk?” Brook asked her.

Sharp teeth snapped close to Brook's afro, before the black and red dragon beheld its doppelgänger. “Is it that surprising?”

“No,” Aki stated. “It is expected. After all, we did arrive here by a talking train. I might not have the Sight, but that seems irrelevant in this world. This is our first meeting, Black Rose. Nice to meet you.”

“The same here, Mistress,” Black Rose admitted, tentacles rising in an approximation of hands. “It is our first meeting where words have been exchanged. The Crimson Dragon must know of our dearest wishes to speak face to face to our partners, and yet by cruel fate only one amongst the six of you ever held that unique ability. Oh, that is not right; we have met at the temple in the sky, defending against the martyr of the lily and her great power as either warrior or witch. Ah, but you have inherited the power-”

“The other Black Rose,” Aki decided, cutting off what was looking to be a very long monologue of the Black Rose Dragon's very long life as a Duel Spirit. “Can you talk too?”

A beat, and the other Black Rose inclined its head.

“Then, you will not talk to me?” Aki guessed.

Another incline, with an added cock of its head and spreading of wings to further emphasise it blocking their way.

“Why, you disrespectful cur!” Black Rose took umbrage. “Mistress Aki is-”

“Enough, Black Rose,” Aki stated. “We are also meeting for the first time.”

“She, of all the spirits, should have respect for you, Mistress!” Black Rose lamented. “She's young. Please do not blame her.”

“It is natural to be tense in my presence,” Aki replied, DuelDisk unfolding. “You can't resist. After all, this is my territory, and the domain of my deck. Dragons, when faced with a greater power they do not understand, will lash out. Brook-san, please go on ahead first. Finding Yusei takes priority. We can rendezvous by baby DenDen Mushi later.”

“No, I will stay!” Brook affirmed. “It seems like this is a personal decision for you too. Though I might not understand what's going on, but I will be your supporter!”

“Brook-san...” Aki acknowledged. “Then, stand back.”

A form shimmered, and the other Black Rose conjured five floating card forms at the same time that Aki drew her hand.

“Wait,” Black Rose translated as the other held up a tentacle, and then two. “Two new rules. First, the person going on the first turn cannot draw.”

“What?” Aki commented. “Very well.”

“Second, each player can control a Field Magic,” Black Rose stated.

“That sounds fine to me too,” Aki agreed. “Brook-san, stand back.”

“Y- yes!” the musician walked back to the sidelines.

“Duel! I will start,” Aki related. “I summon Koa'ki Meiru Gravirose to the field.”

Brook startled as the rose monster appeared in a burst of flame. “Oh my! I was surprised!”

“With this, I send the level two Dark Verger from my deck to the graveyard, also known as milling, and then I set two cards,” Aki continued. “End phase, I reveal Copy Plant in my hand as the maintenance cost for Gravirose.”

“Uhm,” Brook turned to the Black Rose standing by him. “What are they doing?”

“This is a form of ritual combat,” Black Rose explained. “Each combatant has a set pool of life, and can control up to five monsters. The goal is to reduce the other's pool of life first. For Mistress Aki to do this, she must have realised something in her infinite wisdom. My Mistress, your brain rivals your beauty, as if a rose has bloomed-”

“Uhm, that's great.” Brook commented, cutting in halfway.

“The other draws,” Black Rose narrated as a sixth card appeared. “The other... plays Foolish Burial, milling Dandylion. Two Fluff Tokens appear on the field. The other summons Crane Crane. By the effect of Crane Crane, a level three monster like Dandylion can be revived, but its effects are negated.”

“Dandylion with its effect negated?” Aki commented as the other raised a tentacle.

“The other constructs the overlay network with these two monsters,” Black Rose announces. “By combining two equals of the exact same level, and by some other requirements where needed, an Exceed summon can summon monsters from other worlds of higher or lower orders, rather than across parallel dimensions, to summon Exceed monsters. The monsters used in the summon are attached to the Exceed monster as material.”

“Exceed summon?” Aki was caught off-guard as a flower bloomed in the midst of the two monsters combining in a network of sparks, and a green-haired nymph with a tiara of flowers bloomed on the field.

“Meliae of the Trees, a rank three Exceed,” Black Rose announced. “The other uses the effect of Meliae, detaching one material to perform one of two effects: in this case, Dandylion is detached to mill Lonefire Blossom from its deck. Two more Fluff Tokens are summoned. Then, the Continuous Spell Catapultomato is activated. By tributing one Plant-type monster, the player can inflict four hundred points of damage to the opponent.”

Aki blanched as all four of the Fluff Tokens were loaded and launched at her in a big explosion.

“Aki-sensei, are you alright?!” Brook yelled, nearly sprinting across if not for the intervention of Black Rose.

“I'm... fine...” Aki staggered slightly. “This damage... is nothing...”

“One card is set, and turn ended,” Black Rose dutifully interpreted. “Mistress...”

“I will... gain your respect,” Aki told the other. “I draw! I activate the Spell Trade-In, discarding a level eight monster such as Mariña, Princess of Sunflowers from my hand to draw two cards. By activating the effect of Gravirose, I shall mill Lonefire Blossom. I summon Copy Plant normally, and by this effect, Dark Verger is revived. By using the effect of Copy Plant, I shall copy the level of my own Gravirose, so Copy Plant becomes level four.”

“I see,” Brook noted by the sidelines. “So, this is almost like... a battle of magic.”

“Tuning, level two Dark Verger to level four Copy Plant,” Aki announced. “Splendid hunter and dweller of the sacred forest, with your whip of punishment in hand, come forth now! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Splendid Rose!”

In an explosion of light, a gold-haired youth appeared, long thorny whip in hand.

“Not yet,” Aki pressed a button. “Limit Reverse revives my Lonefire Blossom, which I tribute to special summon from my deck Tytannial, Princess of Camellias!”

The orange bulb burst, and the red-and-green princess of plants appeared, primly standing by the gold-haired youth.

“I banish Dark Verger from my grave as the cost for the effect of Splendid Rose, to halve the attack power of Meliae,” Aki announced. “Attack, Splendid Rose!”

“Trap, Wall of Thorns,” the other defended according to Black Rose's narration.

“Counter Trap, Pollinosis,” Aki rebutted. “I tribute Gravirose to negate and destroy Wall of Thorns. Chain quick-play Spell, Raging Mad Plants! For every Plant-type monster currently in my graveyard, my monsters gain three hundred attack power. I have Copy Plant, Mariña, Lonefire and Gravirose, so that's twelve hundred attack power to all my monsters. Splendid Rose attacks and destroys Meliae of the Trees, so I can banish Gravirose to attack with Splendid Rose once more, albeit at half strength. Aerial Twist!”

The black dragon was physically struck, and was cringing under Aki's gaze now as the whip snapped back.

“She might be a princess, but I am the witch,” Aki proclaimed as the red-and-green princess dived, claws extended for it. “I am the witch queen of this place. Tytannial, finish him.”

The dragon was struck again, a killing strike. It staggered back, roaring in pain, but lowered its head in submission after a huff. Aki walked over slowly, and kissed its snout, reassuring in her touch on the lower jaw. Gently, submissively, the other black dragon dissolved into sparkles upon its defeat, and a card floated into Aki's waiting palm.

“Moonlight Rose Dragon,” Aki studied it, even as cards began to form around her. “That's right... twelve years have passed since that time.”

“Oh, that was wonderful!” Brook clapped, bony fingers clacking together noisily like a xylophone. “But, why did a card appear?”

“This is my evolution after meeting Yusei,” Aki reflected. “Black Rose... was this what you were trying to tell me all along?”

“...Moonlight Rose is the culmination of the freedom of your power and your independence,” Black Rose confirmed reluctantly. “When anyone expresses a deep wish born of a sort of desperation, a new Duel Spirit is born. Hope, despair, possibility and facts, events and people are expressed through these cards. Moonlight Rose Dragon had been a possibility to be born ever since twelve years ago, but she had not been fully realised until this very moment, when you set aside your destructive desire to get to understand the denizens of your land, better. This is proof positive that you have conquered our power, without intervention from her or I. Furthermore, Moonlight Rose Dragon has given you information all over the island.”

Aki's fingers tightened into a fist. “He's not here... our purpose has been fulfilled.”

“I- Is that so?” Brook considered. “Aki-sensei...”

“I created this card, so...” Aki sniffed, putting it into her Extra Deck slot. “Thank you, Black Rose.”

“The Head Signer is good for you,” Black Rose admitted after a long silence. “Mistress, my existence revolves around you, as I have been realised by your wish. I wish for only the best for you, and I hope you find happiness. That is what makes the current situation even worse.”

“Situation?” Brook questioned, turning around as smoke enveloped the tree line.

“Old enemies,” was the simple explanation as the garden erupted into a conflagration. “The sun and the moon, here for revenge.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't possibly be the only one who noticed the red-blue colour scheme that Accel Synchron and Optimus Prime shares. For the voice, it must definitely be Peter Cullen.
> 
> Which brings up the question of who's the Ironhide here...
> 
> Please review!


	30. XXIX: Reinforce Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story so far:
> 
> While the Straw Hats were on their way to Dressrosa, a tsunami nearly crashed upon them. They were saved by a mysterious Duelist with the pseudonym of Maille, who transported them into a parallel dimension which contained the mysterious archipelago of Messiah Draconis. In a twist of fate, their handyman Yusei, who had been laid down with an injury, was kidnapped along with his D-Wheel, and the Strawhats are headed with their allies: Maille, the samurai Kin'emon, and the Shichibukai Trafalgar Law, to rescue him.
> 
> Luffy and Ace are thus searching Kurohane Island quickly...

 

Much like its sister island of Black Garden, Kurohane Island was populated of mostly forest. It was situated on steep hills, with jagged cliffs stretching up to the skies. Much of the terrain was clearly geared to favour flight as a mode of transport, and Ace reflected that fact as he flung a branch past Gale to his brother. “Luffy! How long are you going to sulk about that steam mecha?”

A branch cracked. Slumped next to a gnarled tree, Luffy sniffed. “Until I'm riding it! And you wanted to ride it too, right?!”

“Well, it's interesting, but that's no excuse,” Ace scolded, pulling at the elbow guard on his left arm and tugging at his open-front shirt. “You want to find Yusei, right?”

“I do!” Luffy was actually steaming.

“Like I said!” Gale finally cut in after being ignored. “Our Sukeban is on this island. Even if Yusei Fudo was kidnapped, Sukeban knows everything that goes on the island. No idiot would risk facing her!”

“Is your Sukeban really that strong?” Luffy asked.

“She fought by your side two years back, and you don't even remember?” Gale cocked his head. “Oh, wait, you were being caddied by Yusei Fudo to rescue him.”

“She was at Marineford?” Luffy asked, perking up.

“She's Black Feather Dragon,” Gale ruffled his wing feathers. “Well, I guess you were distracted, but Aki Izayoi summoned her to help fend off your enemies.”

“Oh, so she's a good guy!” Luffy was bouncing on the balls of his feet, grinning. “I can't wait to meet her!”

“Wait,” Ace echoed, as twigs continued to snap behind him. “Your boss is a _dragon_? And, Luffy, stop breaking the forest!”

“I didn't do nothing!” Luffy complained. “I thought you were breaking tree branches again or... something...”

“Am I interrupting something?” the alto voice sent shivers crawling up human skins, and even Gale's watery eyes grew in size as twigs continued to crack. “Gale, I _do_ remember sending you to receive an urgent message from Starlight Junktion. If you wish, I can _refresh_ your memory~”

“S- Sukeban!” Leaves rustled as Gale burrowed through the canopy, running from the womanly figure in the long skirt.

She wore her dark hair shot with white long and wild, like a bunch of feathers. It was a contrast to the black, white and red sheath dress with a Chinese collar she wore. Her head was covered with a gold hood edged with teeth, pulling back her bangs to show sharp, angular features and hooked nose. In the relative gloom, her eyes gleamed red and she lounged by a low-hanging branch, the hem of her dress dangling out. Her feet could not be seen.

“We didn't even notice her!” Ace exclaimed. “Don't talk to her! We don't even know who she is!”

In contrast, Luffy grinned up at her. “Oi! You're the bird's boss, right?”

“Are you listening to me?” Ace grumbled.

“I am,” the woman laughed.

“Oh. Is Yusei here?”

“No~”

“Yosh!” Luffy grinned. “Let's go ride that mecha!”

“8|... Little brother, you actually like mecha that much?” Ace commented, walking off as Luffy began to charge out.

“Just as the older bears that scar on his back, the younger bears one on his chest,” her words stopped them both. “One gave up his innocence, the other gave up his pride, and all to save each other. Those permanent scars are the result of a wish come true.”

Ace's hand nearly reached his shoulder before he pulled back his hand. Luffy's own fingers were already tracing the scarring on his chest. “Sorry. I don't quite catch your meaning.”

“You weren't meant to,” she replied. “It's just that, I know that boy Yusei Fudo, and for the sake of the Duelist I serve in this current life, I have an interest in him. So, I ponder. Do you keep him around simply because he brought about the miracle that restored one of you?”

“ _Hiiken_!” Ace's fist caught fire, and her eyes narrowed as the conflagration took out the tree branch she was on.

From within the orange flame, Gale's cry of distress echoed before she somersaulted out, still on fire. “Darkened gales, become the wings that soar from resolved hope!”

The flame flickered out, the woman replaced with a slender serpentine body attached with a beak-like mouth edged with lots of teeth and large feathery wings of black and white that matched the looks of the woman earlier. Its feathers ruffled, white down fading to black on the lower down feathers, almost shimmering with crimson flecks.

“Looks like I hit a sore spot,” the woman's disembodied voice continued, amused and unaffected. “Well? I am not the only one who worries for him. In another world, his friends still wait for him.”

“Look...” Ace's fist tightened by his side. “I know where you're getting at. To let we brothers remain together, to even overcome death... who in the universe would not wish for it? I... I saw it. Those desperate souls who chased after us. Those bounty hunters so keen to hunt us down on merely the possibility. Faced with living proof, no matter how dubious or discredited... when they wished for hope, an equal despair was created. We bear scars that are the price of that miracle? That's cheap, they think. For that kind of miracle to fall to a pair of pirates... anyone would want to have that miracle, or even to control or eliminate its source. Right, Luffy? Luffy?”

Ace turned around to see why his brother had fallen silent. “Luffy...?”

“I'm so glad,” Luffy sniffed, grinning with snot running from his nose. “Rather than a miracle-worker or something, someone else in this world is worried for Yusei the human being.”

The dragon reared back in shock. “Are you saying that...?”

“True, Ace and I can't repay Yusei, but we don't need to!” proclaimed the captain. “We're comrades! We're going on this adventure, and we're going to find it at the end of this voyage, when I will become the Pirate King, the freest person on the seas! He'll become the handyman of the Pirate King!”

“... _What kind of stupid ambition is that?!_ ” Black Feather Dragon snarled, wings upraised and voice echoing around, as gale-force winds howled, tugging at clothes and feathers. “Yusei Fudo was the King of Riding Duels! We acknowledge his skill, his genius, his spirit! He saved his world several times over! And you treat him as a handyman, like a tool or personnel to be used without regard? To serve a name without power and the world's danger on his head?!”

“Yusei's not the type of person to want a crown or reputation!” Luffy shot back. “He's absolutely not the type to become a pirate. But, being our handyman is something that Yusei doesn't have to be sad over anymore!”

The beak clicked, flame erupting out as the dragon and the rubber man were about to engage in a shouting match of a sort. Perhaps it was a relief when Ace stepped between them, or when the neighbouring island blew up in an eruption both noisy and flashy.

“...look, we got bigger concerns now,” Ace started. “Luffy, quit yelling with the dragon. The next island just blew up.”

“It's a giant bird!” Luffy snapped back.

“Idiot, idiot, idiot,” Gale dutifully recited before Ace's fist took care of that. “Oi!”

“Blew up?” Black Feather Dragon's head rose, the monster spirit floating up to peer over the tree line. “That's Black Garden. Black Rose can take care of it- why do I feel heavier suddenly?”

“Oi, are you going to fly?” Luffy questioned, dangling from one of her tail feathers. “Come on, let's go!”

“W- What are you doing?!” Black Feather screeched with a wild take, especially at the older D brother already perched on her back. “Get off, brat!”

“That's your friend's island, right?” Ace pointed.

“If Yusei's not here, he might be on the other island,” Luffy commented, scrabbling on the vane of a long grey feather. “You're going there, right? Then give us a ride too!”

“-.-* Get off!” Black Feather roared, especially as one feather floated down. “My tail! Let go!”

“No way!” Luffy held on for dear life against the bucking.

“Oi! You're going to throw me off!” Ace clung onto the bony frame.

“That's the point!” Black Feather Dragon's wings shimmered a glossy black, before the illusion cancelled out and the human form was back.

Scrabbling on suddenly empty air, Luffy and Ace yelled as they fell to the earth, Black Feather herself floating serenely on partial wings summoned on her arms. Her attire had changed into a sailor uniform with a maxi skirt, again concealing her feet – or lack of them. “Idiot, idiot, idiot... why am I doing this?! _Gale_!”

“Sukeban!” Gale saluted from a tree branch as she landed. At the base of the tree was Ace and Luffy in a small crater, dust kicked up by their landing floating about.

“What was that about, birdy?!” Luffy leapt to his feet.

Ace just got up, dusting himself off. “Well, sorry for the trouble. My little brother's got no manners, you see.”

“You both don't have _manners_!” Both of them were met with a wing to the face, knocking them back. This was followed by a full-bellied laugh, and Gale relaxed as her form shook with giggles. Luffy's laugh and Ace's snort joined the party soon enough.

“I think I like you guys!” Black Feather declared.

“I think you're okay,” Ace grinned back.

“You're great, birdy!” Luffy laughed, defusing the earlier tension. “Too bad you're not a mecha.”

“Again with the mecha?!”Ace complained good-naturedly.

“Well, the place has enough mecha for two islands,” was the good-natured reply as she shifted back into her draconic form. “I'll show them to you, but we have to check on Black Rose first.”

“Really! Awesome!” Luffy pumped a fist. “Let's go! Ace, what are you doing?”

The freckled man turned back to him, no longer smiling. “Erm... where's the Sunny?”

* * *

“Even though I volunteered to watch the ship and Caesar, I wanna ride the mecha too...” Usopp complained aboard the Sunny to the shipboard DenDen Mushi. “Wait! As a proud warrior of the sea, doing menial tasks is expected! Plus, I've got the 'I can't go to that island' disease...”

“You're just scared,” Momonosuke bluntly pointed out.

“Shut up!” Usopp retorted. “Anyway, Maille! Why the hell are you knitting so quietly? And where did you put it anyway?”

The three silver needles had been taken out of her chignon, and were currently flying about her hands in a tricky three-needle work as Maille sat by the deck, knitting out a balaclava. “Is there a problem?”

“Listen!” Usopp pointed an accusing finger. “Just 'cause you saved us once doesn't mean that I trust you at all. In fact, I've got my eye on you! Your mysterious yarn just appears out of nowhere, it's weird!” The finger fell. “Oh, right. What are you making, and where did you get the string from?”

“This is interesting,” Momonosuke leant close to inspect her work. “This can be used to create clothes?”

“Yes,” Maille agreed. “Before that, Mr Sharpshooter. What about your prisoner?”

“He's still right there!” Usopp pointed towards Caesar napping by the foremast. “Anyway, leaving me alone here is just too cruel! I wanted to ride the mecha!”

“Steam Synchron passes through quite regularly,” Maille commented as the wind picked up and the Sunny floated towards the direction of the Island of the Dragon's Head, Starlight Road.

“You... don't you have a single bit of romance in you?!” Usopp lamented, joined by Momonosuke in crying.

“That's right, that it is!” Momonosuke shouted. “Honourable Father said that I must stay here, but Yusei-dono risked his life to save me! I cannot just stay here and wait!”

“Believe in Luffy and the others,” Usopp counselled. “Yusei won't give up so easily. If he can crash Marineford to save Luffy, Yusei will follow our captain anywhere.”

“Your captain must truly have great charisma,” Maille commented. “Yusei Fudo is a legendary hero.”

“L- Legendary hero?” Usopp chuckled. “Yusei's reliable, but he's not _that_ reliable.”

“Reliable, always present, constant as the northern star,” Maille recited, the needles in her hands clicking as she continued. “The Clustering Stars always seemed to think so.”

“Like I said, Yusei isn't that reliable,” Usopp rebutted. “Like, he's not talented, or smart, or stoic, or able to make Luffy take a bath regularly, or help out Nami in her calculations, or discuss with me, Chopper, Robin, Brook and Franky equally on gadgetry, medicine, history, music and mechanics... Or even talk to Ace, Zoro and Sanji at all... or turn enemies into sort-of friends...”

Momonosuke blinked as Usopp somehow managed to talk himself into a depression. “But... Yusei-dono is all of those things. Honourable Father even said that I should emulate his example of _bunbu-ryōdō_.”

“You'll just over-reach,” the sharpshooter grumbled. “Fine, he's reliable, but a legendary hero? He's still human.”

“So, Yusei-dono has bad points too?” Momonosuke asked.

“He's always asking for help, and he's so... hopeful,” Usopp complained. “It's like a monster dog that looks like a puppy, and no matter what he's still there. Like somehow... somehow Yusei will be there for us, to take on the world for our sakes. Aki told us that he alone planned the assault on the Marines' stronghold, against the Shichibukai, the Marine Admirals, and the Whitebeard Pirates. If... he weren't there, Luffy would've...! Ace would've...! Watching Sunny is important, but he's my friend too!”

“What loyalty!” Momonosuke exclaimed, tears shining in his eyes.

“God, let me find him too!” Usopp cried to the heavens. “I want to ride the mecha!”

Flying above the Sunny on their delivery rounds, several members of the Blackwing tribe suddenly had the urge to crow thrice. They successfully decided that fate could use some other corvid spirit nearby to conduct its bad gags simultaneously.

“...” Maille continued knitting as Momonosuke slumped down beside her, too stunned to do anything else by Usopp's blatant excuses. “...Just leave him be.”

“I'm sure Dr Fudo is a better conversationalist than any of you, _shurororo_ ,” Caesar mocked. “Maybe that's why he was kidnapped.”

“Shut up!” Usopp leapt back to his feet. “Anyway, Yusei's so silent, he managed to steal food from Sanji's fridge! There's no way that anyone kidnapped him for talking to him! It doesn't make sense anyway!”

A high-pitched whistling echoed, carried by a sea wind. A warm breeze with the scent of smoke carried over, and in the distance, Black Garden blew up in a conflagration, a sudden shock-wave sweeping out across the lagoon and rocking the Sunny, tossing everyone aboard it about the deck.

“W- What just happened?!” Usopp yelled, pulling his telescopic lens on his headband to check.

“That's Black Garden,” Maille deduced, looking about. “This is... Inti's move?”

“That sun monster?” Usopp asked.

“Yes,” the balaclava was placed on her head as Maille turned her masked face towards the skies, watching the sun and moon descend upon the island of the black garden. “Inti swore revenge on the master of the Clustering Stars.”

“Revenge on _Yusei_?” Usopp asked.

“The gods named Wiraqocha Rasca and Ccapac Apu were killed by Yusei Fudo,” Maille delivered flatly. “They were the father and son respectively of Inti and Quilla.”

“Yusei pissed off _those_ monsters?!” Usopp pointed up to the skies and the razed island.

“There were extenuating circumstances,” Maille stated as explanation. “By the way... where are you steering the ship?”

“Huh?” Usopp blinked.

“Oi, idiot!” Caesar yelled, snapping out of his brooding time. “The ship is moving!”

“It is, that it is!” Momonosuke confirmed, morphing into a dragon halfway through his dash to hide behind Usopp.

“Moving? But the anchor...” Usopp gaped at the neatly rewound anchor by the figurehead of the Sunny. “Huh?! Where are we going?! Oi, help me! We've got to anchor the Sunny and get Luffy and Ace! You help out too, Maille!”

“If we continue in this direction, we'll reach Starlight Road,” Maille commented, still in the midst of knitting her balaclava with no sight as to the source of the yarn. At the same time, the DenDen Mushi started to hum.

“Luffy?” Usopp asked.

“ _Yeah,”_ the captain chirped. “ _What happened?”_

“Oh, the ship got off course,” Usopp explained. “We're going to dock in at the opposite island- what was it?”

“Starlight Road,” Maille supplied. “What happened at Black Garden?”

“ _That's what me and Ace are going to find out,_ ” Luffy answered. “ _Besides that, Usopp! I'm flying on a dragon!_ ”

“That's nice,” Usopp stated absently, before his head and nose sunk into a depression. “We're just floating around on Sunny and you're flying... I wish something interesting would happen...”

A breeze howled, and Usopp gave a high-pitched shriek as an arrow thudded into the foremast, causing Momonosuke and Caesar to stare at the looming jet-plane hovering near. “Stop! Stop! I take it back!”

“ _What's wrong?!”_ Luffy demanded even as Usopp dropped the receiver, ending the call.

“Pirate ship!” the cry went up. “You are surrounded by personnel of Starlight Junktion, zoom! In the name of the Clustering Stars, we shall intercept and arrest you, zoom! Surrender immediately!”

“W- What?” Usopp stuttered, flailing about. “Where's he coming from? What's that black dot there? Is it a bird, is it a plane- NO!”

The black thing flipped out metallic legs, doing a somersault to reform into a shape resembling a human being, albeit with wings. Its chrome finish glimmered in the sunlight as it held up curled fists.

“W- W- What the hell is that?!” Usopp freaked.

“Jet Warrior?” Maille recognised, confused. “Weren't you on your way to prove your acceptance?”

“...oh, it's just Maille, zoom,” the black jet-transformed warrior folded himself up and just thudded onto the grassy deck, sending the Sunny rocking and its occupants stumbling. “I _was,_ boom! Draco said that I'd find Master this way, boom! I even opened a dimensional door for him so that I could wait at that shitty island, zoom! Bloody fighting fish, zoom! Shitty clairvoyant woman, boom! Annoying Lilliputian fairies, doom! He tricked me, zoom! Master didn't come, zoom! Stardust Dragon made an emergency recall and Master will never get my card and I'll never fight on the field, kaboom!”

“You're using run-on sentences, Jet Warrior,” Maille cautioned as flame began to surround him. “We're on a _wooden_ ship.”

“What the hell is this?!” Usopp freaked, eyes sparkling. “It's... it's... a _mecha_! It flew! It's burning! _Awesome~_!”

“It's a giant talking _karakuri_ , that it is!” Momonosuke yelled with shining eyes.

“It's also setting fire to the ship!” Caesar yelled at them, doing a wild take. “Hurry up and put out the fire!”

With smoke rising up from all directions, Jet Warrior was finally calm enough to listen to them.

“T- This is serious, kaboom!” the Warrior monster freaked. “ _My soon-to-be master was kidnapped?!_ We have to tell Stardust, zoom! Cry havoc, boom! Let loose the dogs of war!”

“Ah, the sail's totalled again,” Usopp complained. “You're Yusei's monster, right? We'll follow you on the Mini Merry II to get to land and a tailor.”

“If I can't drag you by force to Starlight Road, then I'm not fit to be part of the Clustering Stars, boom!” Jet Warrior's turbines started with a roar, and the giant robot transformed into an airplane and started lugging at the anchor chains, choosing to drag the Sunny along this way.

“It's dragging us! Awesome!” the menfolk cheered. “How come Yusei never showed us this guy?”

Maille pondered it sadly. “No matter where they are, people will speak of the strange and mysterious, and somehow, we hear of them as a simple lie. Yet, that is untrue, because all lies have some basis in fact. Whether as a different perspective of the truth, or someone's belief, or simply a wish that the world become a little bit more than what it already is... perhaps, it is we, who have wished these fearful monsters into creation, without ever meeting our creation face to face.”


	31. XXX: Novox's Prayer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story so far:
> 
> While the Straw Hats were on their way to Dressrosa, a tsunami nearly crashed upon them. They were saved by a mysterious Duelist with the pseudonym of Maille, who transported them into a parallel dimension which contained the mysterious archipelago of Messiah Draconis. In a twist of fate, their handyman Yusei, who had been laid down with an injury, was kidnapped along with his D-Wheel, and the Strawhats are headed with their allies: Maille, the samurai Kin'emon, and the Shichibukai Trafalgar Law, to rescue him.
> 
> Yusei, having awoken but having been discovered by the clan of Duel spirits formed from his deck, the Clustering Stars, has discovered the secret of his own D-Wheel, and is suffering from the combined shock of its sentience and the injuries previously incurred...

 

Following the unfortunate accident by which Accel Synchron and Yusei met, a collapsed Yusei was currently being examined by the large red and blue monster and another hovering humanoid, with the human form of Stardust Dragon standing by the side.

“He's running a fever!” Effect Veiler reported.

“WHAT?” a hedgehog squeaked. “Effect Veiler, why did you leave the infirmary unattended?”

“I- I'm sorry!” the teal-haired Tuner monster replied.

“Will Master be fine?” Accel Synchron commented. “Doppelwarrior, I need a stretcher team.”

“What's going on...?” Yusei himself demanded as he was hoisted onto a stretcher and the Doppelwarriors carried him back up. “Why... does my body feel weak...? I... I have to get back to everyone...”

“Accel Synchron, good work,” Stardust ordered, the dragon shimmering into a smaller form. “If you didn't get Yusei off the ship and to here, the distance wouldn't allow the island's core and Yusei's soul to resonate to compensate for the missing card. Bolt Hedgehog, relay this to the Tuners; Maille just sent me a message that Draco is trapped in the archipelago once more. Hunt him down, but bring him in alive. We must locate that card. Effect Veiler, humans have worries such as infection and hyperpyrexia to worry about.”

Yusei's dry mouth seemed a constant, even as the clean smell of the infirmary assaulted his nose again and something like a numbness washed over his head. He tried to struggle, but slender hands bearing a grip close to a vice held him back. The burns on his hands smarted a bit.

“Yusei?” the woman that held onto his bared hands was pale as the new moon. Eyes of gold that bored at him was framed by plaited hair, so blue-green that it shimmered silver in the dimmed lights of the infirmary. The purple bodice-pattered shirt added emphasis to her assets, but kept them demure as well. Yet, this set bore no jewel encrusting or any other adornment, but seemed more like body armour. “Yusei, do you remember this form? Do I need to transform back into a dragon?”

“S- Stardust...”

“That's good,” Stardust clutched his hands tightly. “I'm sorry... your card was stolen. A foundling Duelist we fostered betrayed us for some reason, and stole it.”

Yusei blinked at the lights. “W- Where...?”

“Maille, another foster daughter, gave chase and stumbled across that band of pirates being attacked,” Stardust explained. “She brought your ship, Draco the betrayer, and herself into this world, and especially into Messiah Draconis, where we dwell. The recently awakened Accel Synchron sensed your distress, and brought you to us.”

“T- They must be worried...” Yusei tried to sit up, but his hands tugged on the IV lines and then remained. “Everyone... I have to get back!”

“You can't summon fully in your current condition,” Stardust reiterated coolly. “You were stabbed by a finger _._ You lost blood enough to have sent you to us. You are in no position to fight now.”

Yusei's breathing was becoming more laboured. “I resolve not to die, so...”

“Your resolve means nothing in the face of human physical limits,” Stardust stated. “The power of your soul is also diminished following Draco's betrayal. You are in no position to fight; furthermore, this is not your fight to make. Your pirate activities can wait. If you wish, I can send them a message on our behalf.”

Yusei bristled. “They're my nakama-”

“Yusei,” Stardust admitted, her crystalline voice pitched low. “You value the bonds of friends so much, sometimes you blind yourself to the fact that not all friendships turn out well. Did you forget the Dark Signer of Ccapac Apu?”

“Kiryu recovered himself!” he insisted. “Anyway, Law-san needs help...”

“And you can't provide that help, so you suffer inside,” the dragon-turned human placed a slender hand with clawed fingernails around Yusei's head, murmuring platitudes. “My poor master, cursed to suffer for other people's wishes. Their whims, their prayers, are not worth your life. That traitor, your... friends... they hurt you so much, and you don't refuse them. You may have resolved not to die, but we of your deck, whom you saved and breathed life into for so many years... we will not let you down here, not when we finally have the power to protect you.”

“Stardust... what are you saying?” Yusei blinked as a syringe emptied itself into his bloodstream.

“We couldn't do anything then...” she continued sadly, stroking the gold highlights in his hair as she propped a pillow for him. “If it is for you, they will _burn_ in heat that will rival the dawn of creation.”

Even as she lowered him gently, her pale face took on some inhuman visage of a smile, almost as if her mask had slipped. “I'll leave you to rest while those wounds are healed. Effect Veiler, you will attend to Yusei.”

“Y- Yes!”

Stardust then flounced out, leaving Yusei staring after her.

“Erm....” the teal-haired monster fretted. “Master, I'm Effect Veiler...”

“My name will be fine,” Yusei demurred, studying the other monster. “Just now... erm, I think you can put that syringe away now.”

“Ah, sorry!” Effect Veiler pulled away the needle that was trailing a bit too close to his general personal space. “Everyone says that humans need painkillers and antibiotics, so I've been studying a lot, but it's hard to get up-to-date human knowledge...”

“...we've fought together a lot on the Duel field, but this is the first time we've met,” Yusei admitted, smiling. “Thanks.”

“You're... welcome?” She smiled back, consulting a clipboard hanging by his bed on a long chain. “I think... We've never really brushed up on social conventions, you see. To meet our master is something none of us ever thought possible, outside a Duel.”

“Why... do you call me that?” Yusei frowned. “I don't... I mean, all of you are my friends. Why do all of you call me Master?”

A light blush covered her face, and she held the clipboard to herself. “You gathered us together.” Pride quivered in her voice on her reflection. “This clan is led by Stardust Dragon, but you remain the lord and master who treasured us, and used us to win victory. The Warriors who were difficult to summon, and low-level monsters discarded... you saved us when the other humans discarded us. 'Dueling breathes life into cards, and breathing life into them is a Duelist's duty'... you truly believed that, and we cards responded to your love.”

“Erm... oh,” Yusei fidgeted, wincing as his shoulder pulled.

“It must be difficult, but you will understand, Master,” she frowned, looking at the clipboard. “It's about time to change your bandages, and cleaning...”

The stoic façade deepened as she pulled out from one of several cabinets lining the walls a basin, bottles, and soft cloths along with rolls of linen. “I can do it, you don't have to-”

“Ara?” She smiled at his embarrassed façade. “If Master is worried, rest assured that this is nothing inappropriate. There was that strip Duel Monsters-”

“Y- You _saw_ that?” Yusei sounded like he was inwardly cringing, though honestly intrigued. This was despite the blush colouring his face and the criminal marker it bore.

“I was summoned during that time,” Effect Veiler seemed positively evil in her placid acceptance as she handed Yusei a cup of water. “But, I think Junk Warrior mentioned something about... Team Satisfaction? What did he say? 'A bunch of extremely reckless human teenagers who go around handcuffing people to Duel them into submission... diagnosis, puberty.' I haven't seen a young Master...”

Savvy enough, Yusei did not drink until he was sure that his sputtering had subsided. “I was young.”

Then he started sipping.

“There was those Unicorn guys who sent you such a nice letter-”

He did choke, as the infirmary doors blew open.

Effect Veiler patted his back, even as she admonished the new arrivals.“I thought Accel Synchron was guarding the door,” was her strongly worded comment.

“He can't keep us away from Yusei-dono, quack!” Hane squawked, umbrage evident as the tiny Sonic Chick waddled in. “Yusei-dono, don't worry, quack! Junk Warrior will destroy those two humans who've landed on the island, ga!”

“Hane? Two humans?” Yusei sat up.

“That blond pervert in a suit, and a samurai in orange, quack,” Hane sniffed. “Poor Yusei-dono, you've suffered at their hands, ga!”

“ _We're going to avenge you, Yusei-dono!_ ” a shout resounded from outside the infirmary. “ _I could've dealt with the Machine Emperors, but you must have chosen not to use me for some reason! This time I won't hold back!_ ”

“That's right!” Yusei scrambled out of the bed and for the door. “Stardust was acting strangely! I've got to stop Junk Warrior! I've got to-”

“Master!” Effect Veiler dropped her clipboard as the footsteps stopped with Yusei outlined in the door frame.

“ _I was really angry about that time!_ ” the giant red warrior with a metallic mesh grille on his chest reminiscent of a semi-truck was yelling at the human now. “ _This time I'll do everything I can! So, why?_ ”

Yusei's royal blue eyes had shrunk so much that the whites were nearly taking over as he was swamped by overly concerned monsters. “Turbo Warrior? Nitro Warrior? You guys-! Accel Synchron, what are you doing? Stop, I need to get to Stardust...!”

“-.-'...” Hane quacked. “...Turbo Warrior's still pissed about that?”

“Yes...” Effect Veiler's face fell. “Should we... retrieve him? We need to find Junk Warrior, after all...”

“...Junk Warrior won't kill him, quack,” Hane fluffed her feathers in a shrug. “...Besides, those pirates let him get beat up like this!”

* * *

_Meanwhile, Nami and Franky, Robin and Law have stopped by the curious twin islands, the Isle of Life and Ancient Forest..._

“...There was an explosion,” Nami commented in the middle of the open field. “Aren't you guys worried? Besides that... why did we have to come to this island of mecha bots?”

“OW!” Franky screamed as he and a few of the Deformers did the Super pose. “I must have died and gone to heaven! This island is full of transforming mecha!”

“You're not bad yourself, Aniki!” the smallest of them, which was yellow and had numbered buttons all over its body, cheered.

“Boom, boom!” the boom-box with arms and legs agreed loudly. “ _Check on the rep, yeah, second ta none!_ ”

“I _really_ don't understand,” Nami sighed, especially as the childish boy in yellow block armour that all the mecha acknowledged as their boss ran up to Franky and yelled something about a Docking contest.

“I know the feeling,” the giant microscope mused. “Ah, I am the Deformer Scopen. Might you be a human?”

“I am,” Nami crossed her arms. “What's up with these islands! First we got a transforming train, then now we have transforming radios, transforming microscopes... ah, sorry.”

“Don't worry about it,” Scopen assured. “Perhaps... you humans came here from a different world?”

“Yes!” Nami's head snapped up. “We actually came here by accident, but one of our crewmembers was kidnapped, and we're searching the islands for him. Have you seen him around? He's go this yellow tattoo on his face, his face is always stoic like it's made out of stone, and he's got very blue eyes. He's also smart, kind, and easy to like...”

Settling down next to the talking microscope, Nami smoothed out a wrinkle in her jeans and tossed her long hair back. “And... I don't understand why he became a pirate.”

“That's really not a lot to go on,” Scopen commented. “Does this comrade have a name?”

“Yeah, he's called Yusei. Fudo Yusei,” Nami stated.

A buzz resounded as the island's boss transformed into a robotic dragon. He swished a sleek chrome tail, its claws lifted to make a pose with the buzz-saw and excavator spade on its claws. “Yu... sei...?”

The transformed devices that we would recognise as consumer electronics with arms and legs did a mass wild take. “EEEHHHH?!”

“Oh, you know him?” Franky grinned. “Then have you seen him around?”

“Then, that Black Feather messenger...” Scopen murmured.

The dragon collapsed back into its childlike human form, bearing a grave expression as another explosion resounded. “...a while ago, the Black Feathers delivered a message. The Clustering Stars' newest member arrived back to Starlight Road, carrying with him the master of the island, severely injured and seemingly on the brink of death.”

“Yusei!” Nami brightened.

“Yosh, he's alright! This is super!” Franky grinned. “Which way is it to Starlight Road? We've got to take Yusei back!”

“There's more,” No joy radiated from the bland recitation. “In that message, Stardust Dragon has sent a request to all of us, pleading for our help to redress her master's offence, beginning from the start of his most recent injuries to the injury his soul suffered upon the theft of the card. The anger of Stardust Dragon is a terrible thing to suffer... so, leave this place. Leave this world.”

“That... Yusei's dragon?” Nami asked. “Why? It helped us loads of times... it helped Luffy... so why would it be angry at _us_?”

* * *

“The Island of Fairies, Ancient Forest,” Robin commented light-heartedly, walking alongside Law. “It's rather more expansive than we first believed.”

“I agree,” Law replied as they walked deep within the eerily beautiful locale. “The plan for each of us to search one island and rendezvous later might have to be revised. Yusei-ya is needed for the plan.”

“If I recall... Luffy mentioned that you wanted Yusei as a handyman?” Robin asked.

“No,” Law replied. “Yusei-ya is... do you have any idea what he did on Punk Hazard?”

“No,” Robin answered. “He can be surprisingly tight-lipped.”

“He stole Caesar's research, and he can understand it,” Law explained. “Even if I completely ignore... what happened at Marineford, his conviviality and engineering expertise alone would have prompted me to offer him the position of quartermaster.”

“Oh, excuse me,” Robin caught herself on the trunk of a low-hanging tree. “I seem to have stumbled. The ground is very uneven.”

There was a giggle. Law stood and waited as she picked herself up. “We should hurry up. We need to get into position for Doflamingo's announcement back in our world.”

The Strawhat archaeologist simply followed behind. “This island of fairies... they called it the island of fairies, but we've yet to see anyone here. The curious claw shape of the island would also indicate that we would see anyone at the lagoon that transforming train dropped us off at.”

“Hmph,” Law agreed wordlessly. “Before, behind, left, right, above...”

Both pirates stared at the tiny redhead blue-skinned sprite that flickered past on a tiny pair of razor-sharp wings on her back. It giggled, giving a wink to Law before it flickered to sit on a low-hanging branch. Blinking, its liquid gold eyes seemed to blend into the multitude of eyes hidden in the tree itself.

“This is...” Robin started to turn around, staring at the crowd that seemed to have formed to hem them in, especially with the lion and the unicorn in their way back.

Law drew his sword.

“I am Regulus. You must be the pirates that Ancient Fairy-sama was notified of.”

“A voice?” the Heart Captain blinked. “Who?”

“It is I,” the lion's jaw curled.

“...talking birds, talking trains, and now talking lions,” Law's expression tightened in a way that seemed like dull surprise, or like he had no idea how to react anymore. “What's next, a talking dragon?”

“The first thing is, who notified them?” Robin considered. “And, do they have ill intent towards us?”

“You can question the talking lion later,” Law commented as the blue sphere of his Room began to activate and he moved to draw and slash iai-style. “ _Room_!”

A rectangle of space shimmered. “Trap, Shift Change. Escort them, Dreamsprite.”

The sound of the waves cut off, all attention narrowed to where Law was slashing at the blue-skinned sprite that appeared in his path. And then they were in a glen, tall trees surrounding a space harshly illuminated by sunlight so pure as to be nearly stifling.

Both pirates stepped back, away from the large snake-like entity with giant blue-veined butterfly wings spread out. Slender arms, each bearing an armoured gauntlet that ended in five fingers and matched her helm and breastplate, supported its upper body as the small head, also armoured in a red helm with sea-green tresses flowing down, beheld them. It might have been a regal lady of the land instead of its dragon protector, and maybe it was both, judging by the calculating expression it bore in liquid gold eyes.

“The place changed?” Law started.

“That fairy must be capable of bending space when you attacked it,” Robin murmured.

“You were sent here by Dreamsprite at the behest of my servitor, Regulus,” a grand feminine voice echoed throughout the comparatively silent glen. “I am Ancient Fairy Dragon.”

“You... were at Marineford,” Law recalled. “On the broadcast... you destroyed the entire Marine headquarters building.”

“Yes...” Robin swallowed. “I- I'm sorry. I'm Nico Robin, representing the Strawhat Pirates. This is Trafalgar Law, captain of the Heart Pirates.”

“He needed my power,” Ancient Fairy commented. “I cannot use my destructive power upon individuals, so rest assured. However, do note that destructive power does not equal offensive capabilities.”

“From your words, I assume that you're just giving a warning not to underestimate you,” Law replied. “But, we're not here to pick a fight. We're here to search for one of ours, Yusei Fudo. He's... your master?”

“Hmm,” the dragon admitted. “My current partner knew him as a comrade and protégée. The bonds between them stretches to the past, where Yusei Fudo was instrumental in the defeat of great evil. In the spirit of that bond, and my own bond with the dragon partner of Yusei Fudo, Ruka and I entrust that power in the hope of his protection. Still, with our blessings, you led him to be injured, and as we speak he lingers near death. Ah, perhaps this form disturbs you all?”

“We aren't quite used to talking to dragons...” Robin demurred. “But please don't trouble yourself on our account. We're just here to ask about Yusei.”

“I see. My apologies, my contact with humans has been very limited.” Some inner light shone from the dragon...

… when the light faded, a slender young woman with flowing silvery green hair that reminded one of leaves under the moonlight remained. She wore a simple gown of blue and gold, elegant and classy and all the more regal by the one wearing it. Small red and gold accessories glimmered in the sunlight from her ears and hands, and the woman had some fae quality to herself.

“We Signer dragons have taken many forms over the years,” the beauty mused. “To answer your questions, without need or obligation. Yusei Fudo is safe, for now. How he shall remain would depend on the rest of your crew, and the intentions of this young man.”

“I'm sure Captain Trafalgar has no ill intentions towards Yusei,” Robin earnestly spoke.

“Then, Nico Robin. Can you truly claim that, upon seeing a man revive from the dead, you held no ill intentions? You did not wish for someone of your past?”

At this, Robin hesitated.

A gust blew softly, and the dragon-turned-human seemed to loom even larger. “Trafalgar Law, your heart's desire is almost clear on your face. The pain from losing someone dear to you. Giving up yourself into the violent cycle of revenge, and then, suddenly realising that answer right before your eyes, before collapsing into despair and rage-”

“You shut up,” Law glared up at her. “Dragon, human or fairy, if you speak one more time, I'll kill you.”

“The question has echoed for a while... ' _Why couldn't I have that miracle?_ '” she mused, her liquid gold eyes never blinking. “Humans soon preface it with several more questions. None of you have confronted him with these questions, but they eat at you all the same. After all, which house has never known mourning?”

“Oh,” Law commented, relaxed once more. “It was a general statement.”

“Even pirates must have an origin,” Robin lampshaded thoughtfully. “Yusei is safe, but... do you know where, Ancient Fairy Dragon?”

“With Stardust.” The answer was given with a dismissive wave.

“And... where is this Stardust?” Robin questioned.

“With Yusei Fudo.”

“Are you just screwing with us??” the two next most stoic pirates present shot back.

“No,” Ancient Fairy smiled back, and it no longer looked kind or sweet. “It's just that Stardust requested of us to administer judgement upon all of you.”

Sunlight illuminated the trees, the grass and even the flowers whited out for that brief moment. Humming started once more, and the bubbling of a brook echoed.A black feather fluttered down, before the humanoid chain-wielder of the Black Feathers descended slowly with a bow to the Ancient Fairy Dragon, gathering two cards that floated between two prehensile feathers. “Thank you very much, Ancient Fairy Dragon.”

“Send them to Starlight Road, Fane,” Ancient Fairy Dragon snapped. “This is the only way I could send them without injury.”

From one card, Robin's horrified visage peered out, mouth open in a silent scream.

* * *

Wood burnt dry landed onto the sandy beach as Brook picked shrapnel out of his afro and dusted his sleeves. “Are you alright, Aki-sensei?”

“Yes,” Aki dusted her arms, adjusting her buttoned shirt straight, having discarded the Victorian look for Capri pants easy to move in and a midriff-baring tank top. Her DuelDisk remained unharmed, and by her side two nearly identical dragons of black bared their fangs and spread red petal-wings up at the two dragons in the sky. “I cannot say the same for Black Garden.”

Flames of light and darkness spat across the sky as the entities congregated, sun and moon bearing faces and surrounded by red and blue dragons respectively.

“Sun Dragon Inti, and Moon Dragon Quilla...” Aki gritted her teeth as she played a card. “Ivy Shackle!”

Vines snapped out, binding both the dragons, who were slowly being transformed into woody facsimiles as a silhouette formed against both dragons. That facsimile played a card, and the Ivy Shackle dissolved back to nothing as the silhouette descended to reveal itself as a dragon and its rider.

“You... Draco!”

“You know him?” Aki questioned the masculine Rose Dragon who had accused.

“He betrayed us!” Gale-force winds began to erupt with puffs of heat. “Draco! You bastard, you sided with them?”

The man in the domino mask tilted his head. “You must be the Signer of Black Garden,” Draco's voice carried over the long distance between them. “Madam Signer, if you are here... could it be? The master of Starlight Road...”

“You must be Draco,” Aki replied. “Maille informed us of you. It was fate that led you to sabotage the ship.”

“Those pirates?” Draco sounded surprised. “I see, you are one of them. The card is no longer here. Jet Warrior made things... simpler. Black Rose Dragon, fate has brought us to fight this day.”

A roar was let loose as Aki played another card, a lone orange bulb blooming on the ground, which gave way to a carnivorous-looking plant. Instantly, Inti winked out of existence. Another plant, and Quilla vanished as well.

Neither Draco nor Aki looked too disturbed at the state of events, or the dragons' disappearance. “They were useful pawns,” Draco commented as she staggered, leaning on her strongest familiar unsteadily.

“Moonlight Rose Dragon's ability...” Aki panted. “You're the thief that endangered Yusei...”

“A card of his potential, one of the many he might create in the future, is worth the price,” Draco defended. “I am protecting us! The master of Starlight Road has never appeared, and I know that he'll approve!”

“He won't!” Aki rebutted. “You don't know Yusei! How can he approve of a traitor?! Moonlight Rose Dragon, attack him! Rose Requiem!”

“Not even listening to me...” the dragon rolled as the storm of petals narrowly missed him. “Yazi, raise altitude. We've got to invoke Inti and Quilla again-”

Another beam shot past behind him, and flying over the horizon was the profile of Black Feather Dragon and a few passengers.

“Luffy-san! Ace-san!” Brook sounded surprised. “I'm so surprised that you're riding the dragon, my eyes popped out! Though I don't have eyes... I'm as surprised as when Aki-sensei got another dragon just now!”

“Aki!” Luffy's bellow echoed.

“Luffy-san!” Aki shouted back. “Black Feather Dragon! The thief is him!” 

“You thief!” Ace's bellow sounded as loud as the miniature explosion that set off near the dragon rider. “ _Hiiken_!”

“ _Gomu Gomu no Pistol!_ ”

Brook eyed the other dragon as Draco faced two pissed off D brothers and one Izayoi Aki in what shaped up to be a one-sided match. “It looks like I'm not needed yet. Miss... would you show me your panties?”

A tentacle served as a fist, in a pinch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lampshades abound with regards to Yusei's attractiveness, Team Unicorn, and the fact that Turbo Warrior is completely immune to the Machine Emperors.
> 
> A few sources on pirates reveals that, in real life, the quartermaster is the most important officer after the captain. The quartermaster basically does what Nami does: seeing that the Captain’s orders were carried out, day-to-day management of the ship, dividing plunder, discipline in minor matters, leading the boarding party onto prize vessels, deciding what to take and what to leave, coordinating between all the different departments, etc. In a pirate crew's Articles of Agreement – basically ground rules – the quartermaster gets veto power over the captain. Now consider the spread of pirate captains in One Piece, and try and imagine which one of them would allow anyone to usurp their authority. Lucky that all of them keeps relatively small crews.
> 
> Please review!


	32. XXXI: Ghost Gardna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story so far:
> 
> While the Straw Hats were on their way to Dressrosa, a tsunami nearly crashed upon them. They were saved by a mysterious Duelist with the pseudonym of Maille, who transported them into a parallel dimension which contained the mysterious archipelago of Messiah Draconis. In a twist of fate, their handyman Yusei, who had been laid down with an injury, was kidnapped along with his D-Wheel, and the Strawhats are headed with their allies: Maille, the samurai Kin'emon, and the Shichibukai Trafalgar Law, to rescue him.
> 
> As we speak, Zoro and Chopper have been wandering the island of Crimson Fire for a while...

 

“Zoro! We're lost!”

The swordsman just dug a finger into his ear. “Shut up! I know that already!”

In Heavy Point, Chopper was sweltering as he studied the blackened volcanic landscape of Crimson Fire. The island was apparently well named for its curiously isolated volcanic activity, despite the greenery on either side of it. “I'm a reindeer, so I don't do well in heat... I can't...”

“Heavy!” Zoro shoved the doctor off of him. “Chopper, get up! We're here to find Yusei, right? Or move to a smaller form, we're surrounded by enemies!”

From piles of volcanic ash erupted, two imps bearing tuning forks and hammers erupted, surrounding them and cackling.

“These are the pirates Red Demon-sama was notified of, Dark Resonator?” one of them – who was on fire – cackled. “A _marimo_ idiot and a hairy gorilla? And they landed without permission, what's more.”

“Flare Resonator, you're the biggest idiot,” the imp with gold coins sewn to the back of its robes muttered as it used its tuning fork to whack its flaming compatriot. “Red Demon-sama gave all passengers of Steam Synchron permission, remember? They're guests! Master should meet them.”

“W- Who are you guys?” Chopper stared at them.

“We're the Resonators,” Dark Resonator shot back. “I'm the oldest, Dark Resonator.”

“I'm Flare Resonator,” the flaming one sullenly replied.

“That doesn't answer our questions at all!” Chopper and Zoro did a wild take.

“Anyway, we're looking for one of our nakama,” Chopper explained. “Yusei Fudo. You guys know him, right?”

“What, I thought he was with Inti and Quilla,” Flare Resonator complained. “We could've roasted them. Now we have to stay here.”

“Stay _here_?” Zoro echoed.

“It can't be helped,” Dark Resonator explained. “But we won't have to wait long for Red Demon-sama.”

“Who's this Red Demon-sama anyway...” Chopper trailed off as the beating of wings resounded, and then the ground trembled.

“Oh, Red Demon-sama,” Dark Resonator chirped towards the large red lantern-jawed horned dragon that had just landed. “We just found the pirates that Stardust-sama sent news about, and we're just waiting from Crimson Blader-sama to get them to the keep.”

A head poked out over the dragon's head. “That won't be necessary, Dark Resonator.” Zoro and Chopper looked up at the boom as a blond figure in purple dropped from its back. “These are the pirates? I'll take over from here.”

“Yes, Master.” Dark Resonator fidgeted with its tuning fork. “Uhm, Master, we don't quite know yet what happened to Yusei Fudo, so please stay your hand...”

“Your words are acknowledged.” the man drawled. “I'll just beat them an inch until death.”

“This guy... what's with this burning aura?” Chopper commented, eyes wide and panicked. “Zoro, this is bad!”

“You're the master of this island?” Zoro growled, reaching for his swords. “What a flashy entrance. So, where's Yusei?”

“What's it to you?” the man drawled, violet eyes tightening. “But, that tells me two things. First, that Yusei is certainly around here...” His eyes fell onto Chopper as the latter shrunk back into Brain Point, and he scoffed. “Second, that guy is still attracting weird things around him.”

“You know him?” Zoro asked.

“Like I said, what's it to you?” was the drawled reply.

“We don't want to fight!” Chopper wailed as the two men exchanged imperious to rebellious glares. “We just want to find Yusei and get back to our world! He's our nakama! So, is he here?”

“He's your nakama... so, how on earth did he end up close to death?” the man demanded. “Present your case! Even against swords, gorillas or monster raccoons, I, Jack Atlas won't lose!”

“He won't listen, Chopper,” Zoro snarled, tying his bandanna on and drawing all three swords. “And, he looks strong, if that ridiculous dragon lowers its head to him... he's just picking a fight with us.”

“You're the one picking the fight, you national treasure,” Jack shot back, preparing a straight right. “Three swords? Bring a thousand, ten thousand, it won't matter!”

“I'll make you eat those words!” Zoro snarled.

“They're like each other!” Chopper exclaimed as the fisticuffs vs swords fight took place. “This guy's fighting with his fists against Zoro's swords! Is he a fantasista? Eh, wait a minute! Zoro, we're not here to pick a fight!”

“What about him?” Flare Resonator pointed to Chopper. “He's one of the pirates too.”

“Who knows... no need to pick a fight,” Dark Resonator hurriedly intervened as brown fur caught fire. “Master won't stand for hostages. As long as he doesn't run, it's fine.”

“AHH!” Chopper freaked, starting to run about. “I'm on fire! Water, water!”

“Idiot!” The tuning fork clanged with the helmet of Flare Resonator. “Oi, raccoon, stop, drop and roll!”

“Who'd do that?” Chopper yelled back, dropping and rolling to put out the flames. “Oh... thanks! You're a nice guy!”

The tuning fork then knocked Chopper out with a _ting_.

“I thought you said no need to pick a fight,” Flare Resonator pointed out as Chopper was trussed up.

“This is taking in a prisoner,” Dark Resonator answered with a grin, nodding as he held up the vibrating fork. “You'd just fight with the prisoner. Now, there's no fight. High D!”

“You just wanted to hit him!” Flare Resonator slapped out at his brother with his own tuning fork.

“Chopper!” A clang of metal, and Zoro landed in a flurry of volcanic ash, coughing as he took out Wadou from between his teeth, eyeing Jack with the care given to apex predators. “This guy... He's fighting with just fists and gloves. But, what power... it's like all of his spirit is devoted to utterly relentless attacks.”

“What did you do to Yusei?!” Fire seemed to blaze in violet eyes, and the presence of Jack Atlas was magnified in his scarlet rage in his reach to tear apart the cutting attacks that had somehow projected themselves from Zoro's swords, catching the swordsman into a shoulder tackle that sent them skidding away from each other.

His eyes then turned contemplative. “That red sword... has an interesting aura. A cursed sword, is it?”

_He can sense it?_ Zoro frowned. “You must be a monster user as well, if you know our mechanic,” came the guess.

“Of course I know Yusei!” Jack insisted. “We're nakama! Two years of research – and one failed experiment eight months ago which left me stranded on this island – is devoted to finding him! Then I hear that he's near death, and that you're responsible!”

“That's why, you've got it all wrong...” Zoro exclaimed. “You don't seem like the type to listen at all. Man, why does this bull-headed self-centred protective idiocy come from? Why does it seem familiar?”

A bleary-eyed Chopper blinked. “Why does it feel like there are two of Zoro? And, you! You say you didn't want a fight, right?”

“I did,” Dark Resonator gave a thumbs-up. “I got you tied up here and under our mercy without a struggle. A fight, after all, _implies_ that the other side must put in some effort.”

“What are you, a lawyer?!” was Chopper's rejoiner before the doctor turned his head to continue watching the fists vs swords fight. “But, your master must be a monster, to take on Zoro with only his bare hands. Even the monster Zoro is getting pushed!”

“Monster?” Flare Resonator cackled at the sound of cracks. “Our master possesses the Burning Soul. It's your comrade who's the monster here, to stand up to a power capable of lifting the very cries of Creation itself.”

Clashes, grinding, panting and heels digging into the ground found Zoro and Jack at a stalemate, glaring at each other. Somehow, all three swords had failed to cut him the other, and the two of them were fairly equal. If you considered that one was physically armed and the other was spiritually armed. Or something; the exact nature of Burning Soul was debatable despite its tendency to subjugate demons to its possessor's will.

“ _Burning Soul!_ ”

“ _Santoryu: Rokudo no Tsuji!_ ”

They met in an explosive concussion of power that shook the island. That explosion pretty much described the meeting of Jack Atlas and Roronoa Zoro.

* * *

“Courtesy of Ancient Fairy Dragon, in the care of the Black Feathers, to Stardust-sama,” Fane squawked as the cards drifted from between his prehensile feathers to the hand of her human form.

“Thank you, Fane” Stardust Dragon replied, glancing at the cards to tuck away. “Send my regards to Ancient Fairy Dragon. I have to attend to Yusei.”

“Yes. Also, Black Feather-sama asked about the opening of the Starlight Junktion.”

“It will open,” Stardust assured. “Go.”

The ninja bird saluted, before taking to the skies through the skylight of the Dragon's Eye Mountain. The temporary base of the Clustering Stars was located within it, and its apex would bear the Starlight Junktion in time. The island of Starlight Road and the surrounding island villages it supported would prosper.

“The Duel... and the destiny draw,” Stardust contemplated as she walked the halls. “For a Duelist, it means that the cards are controlled by them, but are still under the control of their cards. Everything is inevitable, and this ability only facilitates playing into the hands of destiny. The heavy need to save the world... for your friends, you will continue to walk this path. I will still be there for you, as you have been for me, my Master. Even to kill those who hurt you. _A Elbereth Gilthoniel_...”

Stardust smiled upon entering the main base, where somehow the entire clan had turned out to greet the Duelist.

Despite first impressions, the monsters of his deck were surprisingly nice, Yusei reflected, concentrating on a low hum in his ears to drown out the intermittent pounding headache. Currently, t he Duelist was dog-piled under several Tuner and non-Tuner monsters, ranging from warriors and birds and ducks and basically nearly every monster of his deck.  Humming resounded, clear and peaceful, in spite of the eerie quiet that formed in the background over the snuffles of sleeping Synchrons and small monsters.

On the desk chair, Effect Veiler leant back, eyes closed.

“ _Fanuilos, heryn aglar... Rîn athar annún-aearath... Calad ammen i reniar... Mi'aladhremmin ennorath.._ _._ ”

Yusei opened his eyes to see the humanised form of Stardust perched beside him again. “Oh, good morning, Stardust. What was that song?”

“Master Yusei,” she acknowledged pensively. “It is a song, in the constructed language of Sindarin.”

Yusei blinked. “You have access to popular culture?”

The smile of Stardust seemed to illuminate her whole face, as if a blessing had fallen onto the Earth. “We who serve the Crimson Dragon have changed forms many times amongst humans. Five thousand years of civilisation and inspiration means almost nothing to spirits. The talking lion had to come from  _somewhere_ .”

“How... does that work?” Yusei pondered.

“Perhaps in the heat of war he saw... something,” Stardust mused teasingly, reaching up to grab and place the sleeping Quillbolt Hedgehog – now named Bolt – in front of Yusei's face, like a parent teasing a child with a plushie. “Or something saved him. If one's spirit determines their offensive or defensive capabilities, humans will constantly change depending on their mindset. They are frustratingly changing like that. 'Tis true, that unknowing Signers share a strange fate.”

“I don't quite understand it,” Yusei repeated the words, frowning as Bolt was dropped back onto his head to rest between the spikes on the crown of his head. “It sounds beautiful, though- what are you doing?”

Stardust began to hum again, peacefully staring at two cards in her palm that she drew out of her sleeves. “ _A Elbereth Gilthoniel... I chîn a thûl lin míriel... Fanuilos le linnathon... Ne ndor haer thar i aearon..._ ”

“Stardust, just now, you looked strange,” Yusei volunteered, recalling the ominous threat. “Something about burning...”

“...Monkey D. Luffy failed in his obligations as captain when you were injured.” Her expression flashed, before changing back into one that was expressionless and uncommunicative. “We worry for your sake. Those toxic- no, those pirates... have placed you in mortal peril several times over.”

“They're my friends,” Yusei shrugged in his musing. “But... I should thank everyone for worrying about me. I know that I don't have natural psychic powers like Aki, so I can only express my gratitude as your Duelist, for your help that allows me to summon all of you. Win or lose, all of you have always been with me.”

He looked her in the eye. “Stardust Dragon, thank you for lending me the power to protect my friends and to laugh with them. And, for being my friend.”

An exhale, before Stardust raised a hand to indicate the majority of ambling Duel Monsters, waving and cheering about their daily business within the expansive base that the monsters of his deck seemed to occupy.

“...yes,” she turned her face, until only her right profile could be seen. “Thank you for your kindness... Yusei. You are very kind, towards everyone. However, your kindness is not worth discarding your life.”

“I never thought about discarding my life,” Yusei simply replied. “After all, I'm living for my friends. Are you... worried?”

Stardust opened her mouth, possibly for a retort, but the contents were lost once the doors slammed open once more.

“Stardust-sama! Transmission from Junk Warrior!” the Turbo Synchron paused. “Oh, sorry...”

Stardust got up slowly, the cards being tucked away somewhere in her sleeve as she faced the Synchron. “It is our turn. We will protect you.”

Yusei just stared at her as she left. He then looked to the awake Quillbolt Hedgehog. “...do you know what's going on?”

The hedgehog yawned.

“I think, that there's a dark side here that Stardust doesn't want me to see,” Yusei commented to the only one of the monsters present not in the middle of a siesta. “Quillbolt Hedgehog... you may have realised it already. When I think over Stardust's explanation, about Accel Synchron, about the missing card from the island's core affecting me... there is a base assumption that I don't understand. Her words implied that my life and the island's core are linked in some way. Her reaction to the friends I made in this strange world dominated by the seas, too... Stardust Dragon is truly angry towards them for some reason.”

“Sometimes a smart Master is a drawback,” the erinaceous spirit mused aloud. “It's not like Stardust-sama was hiding her emotions, though.”

“8|... if you can talk, why did you remain silent until now?”

“You let me sleep on your fluffy hair because of that, Master,” Quillbolt Hedgehog grinned, waving a tiny paw. “Say, could you help me tighten a bolt? I can't reach my back.”

“ _Fluffy_?” Yusei's eyes widened, but he took out a wrench from his belt anyway. “Which bolt? Hold on, you have a lot of quills...”

“Oh, yes, that one,” the hedgehog sighed in relief as creaking resounded. “Master's hands are the best.”

“Why do all of you call me that, Bolt?” Yusei checked, getting up gingerly while carrying the Duel Monster above his head to check.

“Bolt... well, we've been with you for over twenty years,” Bolt smiled at his new name. “Is that my new name, wonderful Master of ours?”

“If you wish,” Yusei just sighed at the artless flattery, setting the monster onto his lap. “Just for that reason alone? We're long-time friends already, though this is our first face-to-face meeting.”

“You gathered us here together,” Bolt replied. “We calling you our Master, is the proof of the bonds between us weathering everything you have been through with us in your life.”

Yusei chuckled, setting down the wrench. “It's a Duelist's pride that leads me to say that I'm so proud of all of you, and to be glad to receive your love.”

“Certain deck tribes like the Black Feathers are linked by the fate of creation, but we gathered to form the deck-tribe of the Clustering Stars – that is, the monsters of your deck under your banner,” Bolt explained. “We might have never exchanged words. This might be the first time in twenty-five years that I'm speaking to you. However, you remain our beloved Master. So, in this world of Duel Monster spirits, this island is the proof of our bonds, the bond between Duelist and deck-tribe. For the sake of your wish, this island is the centrepiece of the Starlight Junktion, which will link the furthest reaches of the Duel Monsters world with each other. You showed us that no one is unneeded, so we adopted foundlings, and other tribes sent us hostages that we kept as our own. They were like our own.”

“That sounds... good,” Yusei commented.

Bolt gave a hiccough. “One of them... Draco stole one of Master's cards that you have yet to meet, and betrayed us with Inti and Quilla... all because of Stardust Dragon... You were physically injured, and spiritually injured too, and we could have lost you... Stardust-sama feels responsible. That's why, Stardust-sama cannot let off those who endangered your life.”

Away from the main foyer, Stardust stormed. Scoffing at the offered receiver, Stardust plucked up the Deformer Smarfon bodily. “This had better be good.”

_Beep-beep, beep_ was the rough reply. Or !!-!!!!-! Possibly some strange form of binary code was involved in the composition of the  _beep_ sounds.

“A blond man and a samurai who can cut explosives... I see,” Stardust muttered. “They are the pirates. Incapacitate and arrest them. Now, hand the transmission to Junk Synchron, or someone who speaks something other than bleep. We should pick something up for Yusei... he's come here.”

* * *

“This is a truly strange world,” Kin'emon commented. “Black things fly in the skies.”

“Huh?” Sanji echoed. “Must be a bird. Black means those Black Feathers, right?”

“Mmm, I believed it to be one of the _shikigami_ that Yusei-dono conjured in the rescue of my son,” Kin'emon stated. “Ah, the ship is here!”

“Are your eyes alright? There's no way it could be-” The ground trembled where he stood, and Sanji turned his head to glance with his right eye to the coast where the Sunny had washed ashore. “...oh, it's Usopp.”

The Sunny's paw-shaped anchors crashed, biting into sand. A pair of black-painted legs dropped onto the beach, kicking up rows of sand and causing the ground to tremble. The giant warrior, though, turned to face the Sunny. “We're here, kaboom!”

“Oh, good work,” Usopp clapped from his standing position on the deck. “Oh, Sanji! Kin'emon!”

“Honourable Father!” Momonosuke chipped in.

“Oh, it's just you shitheads. And Maille-chwan~!” Sanji danced as the brunette leapt down from the ship's deck to land on the coast. “You're alright!”

“Get that mecha away from us!” Caesar's yelling punctuated the relative peace of the coast. “It's too sparkly here!”

“Sparkly?” Sanji echoed.

“Honourable Father!” Momonosuke had wingding eyes to match Usopp's. “This karakuri is truly amazing! Is this a man's romance, that it is?!”

“...” Sanji just did a face-palm. “...anyway, why did the mecha drag the ship here?”

“This is Jet Warrior, a warrior of the Clustering Stars,” smoothing out her shirt, Maille stated the name quietly. “Jet Warrior, this is another of your Master's acquaintances.”

“Pleased to meet you, zoom!” the mecha proclaimed. “We're going to the base now!”

“Good day, strange _karakuri_ -dono!” Kin'emon replied.

“Stop, Jet Warrior!” A high-pitched voice yelled as two figures in purple and orange dropped down from the skies. The orange one was dressed like a station-master, whereas the purple one was more like a mechanical aviator.

“Junk Synchron, Junk Warrior, boom!” Jet Warrior emphasised. “What do you mean?”

“We have orders from Stardust-sama!” Junk Synchron explained in his tinny voice.

“!!-!-!” Electronic beeps resounded. “!!!-!!-!!!”

“This is a serious accusation, Junk Warrior!” Jet Warrior defended. “They couldn't possibly have endangered our Master's life by involving him into piracy, causing him to revive a man before witnesses, and led him into situations of grave mortal peril with little or no backup!”

“Ah...” Usopp drawled.

“All three did happen...” Sanji admitted slowly.

“Boom, you're at fault?!” Jet Warrior yelled, turning into another fiery mess.

“!!!!” Jet Warrior's rage became very apparent now, as did Junk Synchron's.

“Oh, you've done it now...” Junk Synchron growled. “Maille, help out!”

“But,” Maille pointed out, “they're his friends, right? Isn't this a misunderstanding? Besides that, the main problem now is Draco!”

“Draco's not going anywhere with your Curse of Trishula on him!” Junk Synchron snapped. “We... Master protected us for most of his life! We just wish to protect our Master! You guys were the cause of his injuries, right?!”

“Protect... Master?” Usopp echoed numbly. “Hold on, there's been a mistake...”

“!!!” The high-pitched beep belied the threatening sight of Junk Warrior dashing forth with both his fists on fire.

“They aren't going to listen to us!” Sanji defended, spinning around on one leg to activate _Diable Jambe_. “Maille-chan, get back!”

“All of you need to cool down,” The brunette Duelist cocked her head, drawing a card. “Grisaille Prison!”

* * *

“Rose Restriction!” Aki announced, tangling the dark dragon that Draco rode with Black Rose Dragon. “Ace-san, Luffy-san!”

“ _Gomu Gomu no Yari!_ ” Luffy lashed out with both feet, nearly hitting Draco if the dragon-rider didn't just fling himself off of his dragon.

“ _Shinka: Shiranui!_ ” Lances of fire cut through the dragon, but the Duelist remained floating. “Che, cheater.”

“You must be the pirates,” Draco commented as the brothers caught onto Black Rose Dragon. “I don't know why you're attacking me, but this has nothing to do with you.”

“You stole something from Yusei, right?” Luffy demanded. “Give it back! Did you kidnap Yusei as well?”

“Oh? The master of the Clustering Stars is here,” Draco stated in surprise. “But, I must express my gratitude. Without his card, I could not have bargained with the Thief King. I no longer have the card, but Starlight Road is secured.”

“The Thief King?” Black Feather Dragon sounded shocked. “How dare you! _Noble Stream_!”

“Hmph,” Draco flung out a card. “Mirror Force!”

“Shit,” Black Feather dropped, diving out of the carpet artillery blasts that her own attack was doing, reflected off of the sacred barrier to ping onto Aki, Black Rose, Ace and Luffy. The last of them got hit, making a stunned sound as he fell off of the Black Rose Dragon.

“ _LUFFY_!” Ace bellowed.

“I'll secure him!” Black Feather dropped down from the skies, folding her wings as the pirate captain fell.

“You can't fly, Ace-san,” Aki grimly stated as Black Rose's tentacles anchored him.

Ace simmered, before relaxing as Luffy approached one of the smaller islands of the archipelago. Luffy's possible drowning averted, and rubber body ensuring that the little brother would survive the drop at least, Ace yelled. “You'd better!”

The skies seemed to burn orange in the wake of one Fire Fist's sudden attack. “Aki, turn around! I’ll  _finish_ him!”

“If you will continue, I shall oblige,” Draco stated, drawing more cards. “ _Chuya no Okaji *!_ ”

Ace gave his opinion in the shape of his longest fingers. “ _Shin'en no Bakuhatsu **!_ ”

Thus fire clashed with fire, and neither could give in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm fairly sure that there's more than one YGO x Tolkien crossover already, so I don't really feel bad about the comparisons. The verses are from the Elvish hymn A Elbereth Gilthoniel, which is dedicated to the Vala called Varda, also titled Queen of the Stars. The Sindarin to English translation:
> 
> Snow-white! Snow-white! O Lady clear!  
> O Queen beyond the Western Seas!  
> O Light to us that wander there  
> Amid the world of woven trees!
> 
> Gilthoniel! O Elbereth!  
> Clear are thy eyes and bright is breath,  
> Snow-white! Snow-white! We sing to thee  
> In a far land beyond the Sea!
> 
> The Otherworlder inspired this in the fic The Trouble with the Guest List where a transformed Ancient Fairy Dragon and Regulus drew comparisons to Galadriel and Celeborn. Although I really don't think any of the Signer Dragons really met Tolkien or form part of the Aratar in their spare time, the implications were too good to pass up, specifically Varda's association with the stars and Red Demon's Dragon with Melkor and power.
> 
> * Chuya no Okaji – Ookazi  
> ** Shin'en no Bakuhatsu – Rekindling
> 
> Please review!


	33. XXXII: Sage of Stillness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To be continued! Please review!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story so far:
> 
> While the Straw Hats were on their way to Dressrosa, a tsunami nearly crashed upon them. They were saved by a mysterious Duelist with the pseudonym of Maille, who transported them into a parallel dimension which contained the mysterious archipelago of Messiah Draconis. In a twist of fate, their handyman Yusei, who had been laid down with an injury, was kidnapped along with his D-Wheel, and the Strawhats are headed with their allies: Maille, the samurai Kin'emon, and the Shichibukai Trafalgar Law, to rescue him.
> 
> En route between Kurohane Island to Starlight Road by flight, Luffy fell off, falling onto an island off the coast of the Isle of Life...

 

 

The sea was calling out to him, Luffy realised after bouncing and landing on dry land. At least, he wasn't drowning. And he had found people.

“Professor, it's raining men.”

“Hmm? Jet, send a messenger to Power Tool Dragon. Wonder Magician, some hot water would be nice.”

“Got it.” His head was unceremoniously dropped, and bounced some more. “This guy... he stretched!”

“He might be a Copycat. The water?”

“Professor, the water.”

“Thank you.”

There was a sucking sound. “Good enough,” the man who sounded to be the leader commented, before the water was unceremoniously dumped onto his face with searing heat, and Luffy sat up screaming: “ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!”

“The water didn't wash off the Copycat's curse...” the sole girl, who bore twin pigtails of pink, faintly stared at him. “Professor?”

“Hmm, yes...” a man in a white lab coat crouched down to study Luffy with intense electric blue eyes. “Are you alright? What is your name?”

“I'm Luffy!” Luffy snapped. “Why did you throw hot water on me?!”

“Sorry, we thought you were cursed,” the man stated, matter-of-fact. “Recently a few students from the Spellbook Institute have been experimenting with form-changing, so if we didn't get the curse off it could've melted your face.”

“Oh, I see,” Luffy pouted, eyes narrowing at the man's spiky hair. “Thanks, old man! Ah, the birdy! Wait, I'm hungry! Hold on, the mecha, I wanna see!”

“...so, you were attached to a member of the Black Feather clan, coming to see the Deformers of the Isle of Life, and fell off in the middle of lunch?” the man deduced. “It must be sad.”

“ _How did you understand that?!_ ” Luffy and the pink-haired girl did a wild take.

“But, we don't have a lost child department, so you'll have to wait a bit to get to the Isle of Life,” the man mused. “So, Luffy-kun. Where did you come from?”

“Oh, I'm a pirate! From East Blue,” Luffy laughed. “But, Maille said that this was a different world... I'm from another world. I came here to find my nakama.”

“Professor, this guy is strange,” Wonder Magician claimed.

“Books should not be judged by their covers, Wonder Magician,” the Professor stated. “Luffy-kun, if your friend came from another world as well, then they must certainly be around somewhere. Can you describe him?”

“Er... his hair looks a bit like yours,” Luffy pointed, frowning as he looked down at their feet. “Actually, his whole face looks like yours! The sea is really a strange place...”

“He looks like... me?” the man repeated, confused. “I'm sorry, my family name is Fudo. You can call me Dr Fudo.”

“Fudo...” Luffy echoed. “You... do you know Yusei? Fudo Yusei?”

“Yusei... that's my son's name...”

“SON?!” Luffy's eyes bugged out. “That poker face should have a limit!”

Dr Fudo stated, eyes narrowing in a familiar strict expression that, unknown to him, looked comparable to a certain Silvers Rayleigh. It thus struck chords of danger in Luffy's head. “...Luffy-kun, I think it's best that you start from the beginning.”

“Yusei was kidnapped from the ship!” Luffy burst out. “He and the Yusei Go were stolen when we just entered this world and weren't paying attention. Maille said that he was somewhere on these islands, so we split up. Ace and I went to Kurohane Island, and we met the giant birdy and got into a fight, but we made up! Then Black Garden blew up and we flew there, and the guy who stole Yusei's card was there and fighting Aki! So we got in, but there was _boosh_ and _whoosh_ and I fell off one of the dragons.”

Wonder Magician started. “I don't get what you're saying...”

“A Mirror Force? All of you were lucky to escape intact,” Dr Fudo commented lightly.

“...and I don't get how the Professor can understand you at all...”

“You're Yusei's dad, right?!” Luffy pleaded. “Please! Help me find him!”

“I... can't leave this island just yet,” Dr Fudo reluctantly stated. “But... could you relate the details to me?”

“I told you!” Luffy shouted. “The kidnapper stole Yusei and the Yusei Go!”

“Yes, but what's the Yusei Go?”

“It's... what did Yusei call it? D-Wheel?” Luffy frowned, but then smiled. “He built it, and it's been with him for years according to him! It's his treasure! Aki said that it's remarkable, and Franky and Usopp say that Yusei's awesome!”

“D-Wheel... if I'm right, D-Wheels use Momentum to operate... and this world resonates with the Planetary Particles within... I see.” Dr Fudo turned his head to face the endless blue sky and the furthest-seeming island at the edge of the lagoon the archipelago surrounded. “I've got the answer.”

“What? You know where's Yusei?” Luffy eagerly asked. “Tell me!”

“Simple,” Dr Fudo concluded. “The Yusei Go kidnapped Yusei.”

“...” Luffy's smile turned glassy. In this context, it meant that the blindingly innocent smiled lost about ten noticeable degrees to become rather chilly.

“The Yusei Go gained sentience and kidnapped its builder off your ship,” Dr Fudo repeated. “In that case, there's only one place to search: the last island of the archipelago Messiah Draconis, Starlight Road.”

“So...” Wonder Magician blanched as part of the sand around them turned wet. “...the Yusei Go is a... robot?”

The man paused. “...I suppose 'Transformer' might mean nothing to you, so... Luffy-kun, do you understand what are 'transforming mecha'?”

* * *

“ _YAHOO_! I KNEW KEEPING YUSEI WAS A GREAT IDEA!!!”

Luffy's shout alerted Ace and Aki, who were floating above.

“He sounds like he's having fun,” Aki commented.

“That bastard... _Higan_!” Ace set Draco's cape on fire. “Shit, are you fireproof or something?!”

“Suanni!” The flame went out as Draco landed on the back of a flame-coloured dragon feet-first, as a white and gold large-mawed dragon appeared next to him.

“More dragons?” Ace complained. “Oi, Aki, can you find a way to catch that guy?”

“The problem is that Black Rose doesn't have enough speed,” Aki elaborated, glaring at Draco. “When we attack, he summons another dragon and changes mounts, leaving us fighting those dragons. They're all floaters, so if we destroy one, it summons another...”

“The dragon that swallows evil, let another soul be reborn upon the opening of the stars. Synchro summon!” Draco called, as storm clouds gathered around in the skies, and a storm started.

“Get me closer!” Aki snapped.

“No!” Black Rose Dragon bellowed as Aki's grip on the impromptu reins fashioned out of its tentacles tightened. “You'll fall into the sea, Mistress!”

“We'll have to get down,” Ace assessed reluctantly. “This storm looks tough-”

“Descend! Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing!”

“We have no time,” Aki assessed as a hail of blasts followed and Draco started to escape with the newly summoned draconic monster. “Hold on to your hat.”

Blankly, one hand clapped onto his Stetson. “Huh?”

“Black Rose, fall!”

“OH MY G-!” The last word was stolen as Black Rose Dragon began to execute an elegant swan dive towards the ocean and fall to the inevitability of gravity... there was screaming, probably, but it would have been like hearing the sound of one hand clapping.

“A- Are you trying to kill me?!” Ace gasped as the Black Rose Dragon pulled up barely a metre from the ocean waves and skirted the lagoon centred amidst the islands of Messiah Draconis, graceful in flight if slightly unsteady.

“Too soft!” Black Feather's lilt echoed as the dragon herself shot past, also floating in her draconic form.

“I thought you could fly, Ace-san,” Aki commented.

“I need some momentum!” Ace snapped back as one tentacle turned impromptu safety belt snapped onto him and the two dragons rose in altitude. A wave crashed overhead, and with it the snapping jaws of something resembling like a shark got heavy with several knives. “Anyway, where's Luffy? He fell around here, right?”

“One island, two islands, three- well, they're more like stray patches of land...” Black Feather lifted her head as a streak of yellow and silver seemed to approach them. “Oh, Power Tool Dragon and your friend.”

“Luffy!” Nami's voice called from overhead. “How the hell did you end up down there?”

“ _Super_!” The manliness of Franky's pose coincided with another wave – and another homicidal shark – and the streak of yellow and silver dipped.

“O- Oi! Don't stand up on me!”

“Is that...” Ace wiped his eyes. “Robot dragon?”

“ _ROBOT DRAGON!!!_ ” Luffy's sparkling could land him a guest-starring on _Kill la Kill_.

“Really, what are you doing-” Ace stiffened as he dismounted the Black Rose Dragon and his boot squelched in something. “Luffy... is this your drool?”

“Disgusting!” Nami exclaimed, electing to remain seated as Franky dropped down to the ground and Power Tool Dragon exchanged with him a high-five.

“Oh, Ace! Guys!” Sparkles still illuminated his eyes. “This place is awesome, isn't it? There's seriously cool mecha here, right?”

“Ow!” Franky posed. “I'm a cyborg and I feel right at home!”

“Yosh!” Power Tool chipped in. “To celebrate our meeting as men and mecha, let's sing a song!”

“You _really_ look like you're having fun, Luffy,” Ace grabbed Luffy, gently taking off the straw hat to let it dangle on its string before giving a noogie into Luffy's dark hair. A dark aura seemed to have surrounded him. “What about my boots? And this beach? Or, as your _loving_ older brother, do I have to remind you?”

Luffy started sweating. “I remember now. Ace, please stop.”

Ace's expression turned black as Nami's fist drove Luffy's pliable skull out of his hands. “What the hell are you guys standing around sparkling for, Luffy?! We came here to find Yusei, right?!”

“Hit him a bit-” Ace caught himself. “What am I saying? You're rubber, you can take care of yourself..”

“Aki-ojou,” Black Rose Dragon hissed. “The heart of the matter...”

“That guy ran off,” Aki replied. “We have to find Yusei and escape this world quickly.”

“Oh, he's on Starlight Road,” Luffy absently rubbed the sore spot on his head. “That's what the old man said.”

“Old man?” Franky echoed.

“Yeah, he's right here-” Luffy blinked. “He's not here. But he's got a _super_ poker face, Yusei's dad.”

“Y- Yusei's dad?” Franky echoed.

“Dr Fudo?” Aki sounded confused.

“Well, regardless of where or who, we know of one place to search anyway,” Nami grimly dismissed. “And, Luffy, Ace, Aki. We've just found out some unbelievable news. Yusei's dragon, Stardust Dragon...”

“That overly protective _coca_ is honestly intending on raining judgement from on high for that little life-threatening injury,” Black Feather yawned, now transformed in her human form. “That person actually sent us Signer Dragons a message saying to arrest and send you guys in for trial under wilful endangerment. That, or kill you because you let their Master get hurt.”

“Hold on, we're the good guys!” Franky protested.

“Yusei is the most reliable guy on the whole ship! I mean, sure I can ask Sanji-kun to do anything, but Yusei is always willing to lend a hand, and clean out the bathrooms and keep on the graveyard shift, and do the ship accounts, and help me sketch maps, and carry what Sanji-kun bought, and somehow entertain Luffy, and manage to splice ropes, and...” The navigator paused. “Come to think of it, the refrigerator locks haven't been tampered with either... anyway, bottom line is, he's the reliable cousin that dropped in one day and integrated himself so seamlessly into the family that I can't imagine life without him in our crew! It was an accident!”

“Well, this cousin has a huge extended family who all think he's being mistreated, to abuse the metaphor further,” Black Feather yawned, as if she had not just revealed the reason for most of the Clustering Stars being pissed off at the pirates. “I don't believe that any of you are capable of that, but I never actually know what the other Signer Dragons are thinking, especially Stardust. Humans are always fragile, to start with.”

“Then we've got to talk it out with that Stardust!” Luffy insisted. “It's a good dragon, right?! This has got to be a misunderstanding! Aki!”

“Yes?” Aki started.

“Can you fly me to Starlight Road?” Luffy asked. “I gotta explain everything and get Yusei back! The Yusei Go kidnapped him!”

“The Yusei Go- Luffy, the Yusei Go can't move by itself!” Nami insisted shrilly. “Anyway, we've got to go there and explain as a crew!”

“That's right, ow!” Franky insisted.

“I need to confront Stardust too,” Aki sighed forlornly. “But...”

“Aki-ojou, as long as you live, the Garden shall eventually recover,” Black Rose Dragon insisted. “The monsters of your deck are still willing to help. If that is your wish, I will fight according to your will.”

“That's your dragon, right, Aki?” Luffy squinted. “It's a bit small.”

“-.-* I'll eat you...!” Petals ruffled before the dragon visibly calmed down. “There are other concerns too. Draco has been dragged with your ship into our world and remains trapped here because of Maille's Curse of Trishula. He has betrayed us and sided with Inti and Quilla for unknown reasons. He must be looking for Maille to force her to undo the curse and escape. The attack on Black Garden was possibly to lure her out, and that is why he didn't remain to fight Aki-ojou.”

“So, in the end we still have to find Yusei,” Luffy seriously stated. “Say... Birdy and Flower. Are there mecha?”

Black Feather Dragon transformed, looking like she would prefer to scarf Luffy down whole. “I am Black Feather. He is Black Rose. Get it right!”

Luffy picked his nose.

“I heard, that Starlight Road has mecha as well,” Franky commented. “Like the Deformers on the Isle of Life.”

“Oh, they do,” Power Tool Dragon enthusiastically waved its pickaxe. “Giant transforming mecha. It's going to be a riot when they open Starlight Junktion and have an air show.”

“Sounds like quite a party,” Ace grinned.

“Really?!” Luffy drooled. “Then let's go!”

“Why mecha again?!” Nami complained.

“Get your priorities straight!” Aki yelled.

Far away – or right next to Aki – Brook lingered. “Uh, everyone... what about me?”

Power Tool Dragon finally deigned to notice him. “Ah! A talking skeleton... SO COOL!~”

“He's a horror otaku,” Black Feather told them as the robotic dragon proceeded to fan over Brook. “The Ghostrick troupe once performed around and their boss had to throw him out because he made too much noise.”

“Huh...” everyone agreed wordlessly as Luffy jumped in, and another permanent friendship was formed between a boy and a robotic dragon.

* * *

“Master, your arm hasn't recovered!” Effect Veiler protested, running after the handyman with a hedgehog under his arm.

“It can't be helped,” Yusei stated as giant ballast doors creaked open into a space that resembled a giant garage. “Accel Synchron!”

The D-Wheel unfolded, and again the Synchron stood before him to look down. “Master. You have recovered your strength?”

“...you can call me Yusei,” Yusei stated. “I need a ride to the beach. I need to stop Stardust. My friends are in danger!”

“They must be terrible friends,” Accel Synchron reflected. “This is your strength and your weakness, Master. But, I cannot.”

“Why?”

Accel Synchron held out one leg, from which a wheel boot dangled. “While you are injured, I cannot allow you to ride.”

“You know, he's thirty,” Quillbolt Hedgehog spoke up. “And he's your creator.”

“Yes, Quillbolt Hedgehog,” Accel Synchron responded. “And Sonic Chick just said that for twenty years since you and her followed Master, you have always worried for our Master's self-sacrificing and workaholic tendencies. Ten years ago it was the engine that began our master's fight, and before that was the fight against the Dark Signers. You created me to bear the hopes of your friends and your dreams, Master, to ride towards the heavens themselves. You wish to ride me; I wish you to ride, too. But... I offer my apologies. I brought you here, chained myself, and I stand in your way now, because I don't want you to die.”

“Accel Synchron...” Effect Veiler started as Yusei stepped forward.

“I remember... you were beat up during that Duel with Kiryu, right? Sorry. I didn't make you strong enough. And the WRGP, and the Duels on the Arc Cradle... and the fight against Z-one too... you were there.” Yusei swallowed. “I have something to protect... all of you, too, have something to protect. But I must stop Stardust from doing anything wrong, because I hope that all of you would become friends with them too. I don't want to choose.”

“If I will be your ride, you must keep a promise to us,” Accel Synchron stated.

“W- What is that?” Yusei blinked.

A giant finger lifted. “That is...”

* * *

It had been going well, Usopp reflected. They'd found some of the locals, been duly impressed by mecha – TRANSFORMING mecha – and then the purple and orange guys attacked them. With Sanji and Kin'emon it should  _not_ have been a problem.

“SANJI!! I'M REALLY GONNA SUE YOU!!”

The white-eyes of Maille's mask popped out at the veritable storm of hearts that, due to Sky Walk, were being scattered about Starlight Road. “I... he... you must have it hard, with such a womaniser.”

“Definitely!” Usopp agreed.

There was a beauty, in dignified blue-tinted white – darker blue on the breastplate she wore over the robe. Her forehead was crested with a diadem of crystal, cold to the eye, and her gold eyes stood out against pale skin. She was a vision of human beauty, and yet he fully knew, that the owner of this form was nowhere  _near_ human. No human could ever command the kind of beauty that would force Sanji to... to...

“Oh, what a gentleman,” she had spoken once he started babbling in French. “Why are we fighting? We can discuss this, over tea.”

“ _Yes, Your Highness!_ ”

“Stardust Dragon!” Junk Synchron growled. “You told us to arrest these guys, right? These guys left our Master Yusei to be injured, near death, and took him away from us! Why are you here?!”

“Don't get me wrong, Junk Synchron.” The cold mandate was enough to silence the Tuner. “Master Yusei would never have met us, if not by some design of fate. Their presence somehow led to him coming to Messiah Draconis at long last. We owe them some gratitude for that, at least.”

“This island is full of idiots,” Caesar commented, dangling from one of the anchor chains. “All the better for me to- GAAAAHH!”

Everyone present ignored the flying sharks fixated on Caesar in the background. “What is going on? I don't really understand, Tengu-dono!” Kin'emon stated.

“So many _karakuri_...” Momonosuke's eyes bugged out of his head. “And they talk...!”

“Meringue! Mellorine~!”

“Sanji can't fight like this either...” Usopp drew the Black Kabuto. “I- I don't know what you guys are intending for us, b- but I know only one thing! This warrior of the sea won't stand by and let you guys keep Yusei! Luffy ordered us here to recover our comrade, after all!”

“...so, if he did not give the order, would you still fight for him?” Stardust questioned.

“What kind of question is that?” Usopp demanded. “Well, the captain's orders are absolute... and he's a good friend...”

“My lady, you seem mistaken on something,” Sanji turned from noodly to suave in a split second. “If Yusei was dumb enough to get himself stranded in another world, there's that. He's going to find some way to get back onto the ship at all costs.”

“Stardust Dragon...” Maille took a step back. “Sanji-san, what are you doing? This Stardust Dragon is...”

“So, you pirates are simply using Yusei...”

“Anyway, what kind of relationship do you guys and Yusei have, that it is?” Kin'emon asked as the monsters turned increasingly ballistic. Jet Warrior was practically burgeoning in rage...

Engines running at full throttle, the horn blowing at top volume, the Yusei Go flew off the edge of the overhanging cliff and down, causing everyone present to rear back in shock and awe, as both wheels touched down, sand flying in arcs as the D-Wheel spun about its centre of gravity, fins flashing and transforming smoothly, its rider landing on his feet.

“Yusei!” Usopp cheered.

“Dr Fudo!” Caesar yelled, still hanging from the Sunny's anchors.

“Yusei-dono!” Kin'emon contributed.

“M- Master?!” Junk Synchron, Junk and Jet Warriors, and Stardust Dragon contributed.

His blue-finned head cocked to one side, Accel Synchron finally pronounced: “Is this a bad time?”

 


	34. XXXIII: Night Wing Sorceress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the Straw Hats were on their way to Dressrosa, a tsunami nearly crashed upon them. They were saved by a mysterious Duelist with the pseudonym of Maille, who transported them into a parallel dimension which contained the mysterious archipelago of Messiah Draconis. In a twist of fate, their handyman Yusei, who had been laid down with an injury, was kidnapped along with his D-Wheel, and the Strawhats are headed with their allies: Maille, the samurai Kin'emon, and the Shichibukai Trafalgar Law, to rescue him.
> 
> Luffy, Ace, Aki, Nami, and Franky had gathered off the coast of the Isle of Life with Black Feather, Black Rose and Life Stream Dragon, and were currently en route to Starlight Road...

“Say, something just occurred to me,” Nami commented as Black Feather swooped alongside Aki and her, the two women seated on Black Rose Dragon's back. “You guys refer to yourselves as Signer Dragons. Is there something special about you?”

“Hmm...” the boyish voice of Power Tool Dragon commented, making a strange sight with Franky dangling from its humped back despite its jaw never moving. “That's... classified information.”

“Oi!” Franky yelped as a white blast narrowly missed hitting Life Stream Dragon.

“Classified, my left wing! I'll Black Burst you permanently, you overgrown child!” Black Feather's mezzo-soprano turned strident and pissed, calming down as Luffy laughed from his perch on her back. “To explain, we are servitors of the Dragon Star. Our ages span civilisations, with Power Tool, the youngest of us, being only a mere five thousand years old.”

“F- Five thousand years? You must have done some serious upgrading!” Franky told the orange dragon.

“Haha... at least I'm not like some plucked _draka_ who up and left before the first advent of evil,” Power Tool retorted to Black Feather.

“I came back! I fought!” Black Feather complained. “I didn't misplace my memories until the end and then make my sudden entrance!”

“I was safeguarding the dragon's heart!” came the retort. “The heart!”

“If you fight here, Ancient Fairy and Red Demon are going to unite against you,” Black Rose commented in his deep rumble. “To continue, we spirits of this realm form specific bonds with our wielders. In our cases, they would be the Signers, humans who are born with a strange fate to summon our creator, the Feathered one, against great evil.”

“Hands off!” Black Feather roared as a flame flared.

“Sorry, sorry,” grinned the Captain.

“So, you're all dragons, right?” Ace pointed out. “You're all strong, right? Why do you guys need masters?”

“Strength always comes at the expense of freedom,” Black Feather pensively replied, flashing a few of her blackened feathers. “Certainly, we have been worshipped as gods at one point in time or another, but we cannot choose our own path. The masters that made such wishes upon our strength shape us to this day.”

“My first summoner... he hated the world,” Black Rose explained. “This destructive power of mine stems from that wish to make the world burn, once.”

“A _Signer_ wished for that?” Aki sounded stunned.

“My lady, did you not wish to make the world burn too, once?” Black Rose questioned.

“I get your point, Black Rose,” Aki acknowledged.

“Yes,” Black Rose responded. “It is an overwhelming fate, to save the world. But, the Signers won. They grew old and lived long, and died in peace, and they are reincarnated... it is the mortality of humans, and through it their free will, that allows them to decide.”

“I... don't understand,” Franky pointed out as the dragons ducked away from a low-hanging storm cloud. “You guys say that you claim humans as masters _because_ they die?”

“When you live for as long as we do, you want some new opinions,” Life Stream commented. “It is that they live for such short lives, which makes their choices all the more beautiful, because it is sincere.”

“To we who possess wings, who can transform, and who can mix amongst humans in different forms throughout time, tracking down the reincarnations of our masters is never hard,” Black Rose elaborated. “The only fate for humans is to die, but the paths of their lives are closely followed by us and the curses they bear as they borrow our strength through their cards.”

“So it's a bit like a Devil Fruit ability?” Nami asked pensively. “Yusei's power is so incredible, that I can't imagine what kind of curse...”

“You should never say that of Stardust Dragon's power,” Power Tool stated, his voice sad for the first time in their short acquaintance. “The wielders of Stardust Dragon are often sacrifices to save something and give hope.”

“Sacrifices?” Aki repeated uneasily.

“Just like I can grant the power of freedom, Stardust Dragon has the power to make wishes come true,” Black Feather explained. “Even wishes that does not fit the bounds of reason can be granted. However, those wishes inevitably give birth to some kind of distortion.”

“The power to grant _wishes_?!” Nami exclaimed. “That's... amazing... but there's a cost.”

“That's sad,” Franky commented.

“Usually, it is an obvious conclusion that the outcome would be the worst,” Black Rose agreed. “For example, a person wished for a dear friend to be revived from the dead. It can be done, but at the simplest level, the person who wished pays a terrible cost. Perhaps by jealousy, by sanctions against them, by isolation, or by power-hungry individuals hunting after him, fate will extract the price. The one who is revived also pays a cost, because he has once died and is now back amongst the living, and can never connect to any of the dead or living.”

Ace grimaced, unseen by the flying team. Luffy, surprisingly, said nothing.

“Stardust Dragon averts all of that,” Black Rose continued placidly, “but the cost is invariate, because the wielder of Stardust Dragon is the only one suffering regardless of _who_ benefits from that wish.”

“EH?!” Nami paled.

“What?!” Luffy started, clearly shocked.

“I haven't had bounty hunters after my head...” Ace realised as both brothers' eyes met. “Luffy... Back on Punk Hazard, I asked Smoker about my bounty. The World Government don't know what to do, since I was technically dead and then resurrected. The bounty on my head hasn't increased because... no one knows if I'll keel over or not. Even as the son of that man...”

“The Pirate King's brat, versus a man who could possibly revive Gold Roger,” Franky understood. “Yeah, I guess to the world- _our_ world, I mean, Yusei would be the bigger threat despite his bounty being low in the New World.”

“Those children, at Punk Hazard... they called Stardust Dragon...” Nami swallowed, “' _the dragon that grants wishes_ '.”

“Envy, sadness, regret... I've always seen that,” Power Tool reflected. “When a miracle appears, it's always 'It happened, the impossible happened...' It's usually followed by 'why didn't I get that miracle...?' They ask the wielder of Stardust Dragon, maybe they get their wish... and to prevent anyone else from getting that wish, Stardust's master is killed. Stardust Dragon always cries when that happens.”

_There was an end coming, there was nothing to do but hope against all hope, and someone prayed for salvation..._

_So the first streaked across the skies in a blaze of light._

* * *

Every entity of Messiah Draconis occasionally thought Stardust Dragon to be the personification of the Dragon Star itself. Unlike Red Demon's overwhelming aura of menace, Black Rose's fury, Black Feather's flighty outlook, Ancient Fairy's fragility or Power Tool's childishness, Stardust commanded awe and respect and worship in general. Comparative speaking, an effect that could ward against much destruction was indeed cause to celebrate for salvation, yet it was more than that. It was intelligence, wisdom, beauty, power, demeanour, and a host of other factors combined with the slaying of a few Earthbound Gods. Who, no, _what_ other Duel Monster could command such a high seat within Messiah Draconis, other than the many faces of Stardust Dragon?

“Yusei?” the human personification sounded confused. “Weren't you supposed to be resting?”

“The doctor gave me temporary leave,” the man with the blue eyes commented. “Of course, I need a second opinion. Usopp-san, and Sanji-san... I'm sorry for suddenly deserting the ship, however unwilling it was.”

“T- The Yusei Go... turned into a mecha...” Sanji gaped, jaw hitting the beach.

“Are you the comrades of my master?” A blue-painted head inclined. “I am Accel Synchron. I have become from my master's D-Wheel as his conveyance.”

“You mean... the Yusei Go?” Sanji echoed.

“No wonder the ship's protection didn't work,” Maille commented. “If you had animated aboard the ship in the service of Fudo Yusei, you are not strictly a hostile entity. You kidnapped him and brought him to Starlight Road.”

“The Yusei Go kidnapped him?”

“I did not kidnap him,” Accel Synchron objected. “It is more of... protective custody that required emergency measures.”

“Emergency measures?” Usopp echoed.

“I don't really get it myself, but it seems like this island and I are connected,” Yusei explained. “Someone stole something from the island's core, and thus... Anyway, I’m glad that you're all fine. And... I'm sorry, I didn't get your names.”

“I am Maille, though that is a fake name,” Maille stated. “I am also a Duelist of Messiah Draconis, under the care of your monsters.”

“8|... Nice to meet you,” Yusei kept that poker face on as he considered Jet Warrior. “Jetfire? No...”

“Master! I am Jet Warrior! We've finally met at last, KABOOM!”

“The poker face appeared...” Usopp muttered.

“You're another of the Synchron Warriors?” Yusei started. “I'm not exactly in a position to buy new cards. I'm so sorry you had to wait for so long.”

The jet-transformed warrior looked like he would burst into tears, and indeed tongues of flame scattered as those tears caught on fire. “Master's nobility is legendary, zoom!”

“Ah...” Usopp caught himself. “But, Yusei, you're fine now, right?”

“Well, I feel fine-”

“You're not.”

“Eh?” Yusei looked towards Stardust Dragon, eyes wide. “Stardust...”

“The reason for your current well-being is the proximity of Starlight Road and myself, who balance out your injured soul,” Stardust flatly stated, gold eyes narrowed. “Due to the medical nature of this matter, I must submit Effect Veiler's request that you restrain yourself. Without the stolen card, I will not allow you to leave as you will endanger your life, my _master_.”

“Why not?” Sanji commented. “He's fine. Madame, although any man would be hard-pressed to escape your beauty~... You're not in any position to stop him.”

“We are, since if he leaves, he endangers his life,” Stardust stated.

“Wait, Stardust,” Yusei protested. “I want to go with them! They are my friends, and I can't-”

“Our priority is you,” she stated. “Maille can send your friends back with her Curse of Trishula. This is hard for you, but I beg your forbearance. Your friends can survive without you.”

“Say...” Kin'emon spoke up. “I don't understand the situation, but you have no wish to release Yusei-dono, is that not so?”

“That is correct,” Stardust replied.

“Then that is all.” Kin'emon glared. “You are an enemy to be defeated.”

“What are you saying, Kin'emon?” Usopp protested. “You heard her. Yusei's got some sort of disease.”

“Isn't there a ship's doctor, Tengu-dono?” the samurai drew his sword, and Momonosuke fled back.

“Oh, you're right,” Sanji spoke up. “And, she never mentioned a disease. She said 'injury'. As long as Yusei's on his feet, Chopper can take care of him.”

“Hold on, it's not like that-”

“It's your monster, Yusei,” Sanji blew a ring of smoke. “You don't get a say.”

“No way...” Yusei rounded on Stardust. “Stardust, explain to them! Please!”

“This is for your sake,” her features turned heart-rendingly sad. _Beep_ , Junk Warrior stated, a tad low-pitched.

“We are not starting a turf war!” Yusei stepped decisively between Duel Monsters and the alliance of mainly pirates and samurai, glaring at Junk Warrior and Jet Warrior. “I expect Luffy-san to pick a fight, not you! I... I...”

“What, Yusei?” Usopp spoke up.

“No... I just realised... this is the first time I'm speaking to my monsters,” the handyman numbly stated. “I can't form any expectations of them... because this is the first time we've met. This is unfair to them.”

“Oi, these are the guys who're keeping us here!” Usopp snapped. “And you're empathising with them, Yusei?”

“They're...” Sand crumbled, and Yusei gave a turn to eye both sides equally on the beach there. A wave crashed onto the shore, washing out. “...they're part of me too. They are the monsters of my deck, who have always been with me. This, too... they have reason to believe that my leaving this place will endanger my life, and that... the crew is a danger. It's for that reason that they brought me here... it's the sole reason that Accel Synchron gained sentience.”

“Your friends are divided into two groups over you,” Sanji nodded, lighting a cigarette. “You can see the arguments here. You realised it too... that there are people who would be sad if they lost you, on both sides. There is no correct answer... so, there is no way Yusei can act and keep all his friends.”

“No,” Legs crossed and denim scraped as Yusei lowered himself to sit cross-legged on the sand. “There is one way.”

“What?” Kin'emon started.

“Because this dispute is about me, I must abstain from siding with either side,” Yusei pointed out, pulling his cards. “This whole mess arose because my life is endangered. But, no matter the reason, this also arose because my own monsters believe that my friends will endanger my life deliberately. Both sides don't know each other; rather, both sides had no way of meeting until now. Even if we don't directly meet... all of you are my friends. So, I choose to bet on Luffy-san, and I believe that he will persuade all of you. Before that... Sanji-san, Usopp-san, Kin'emon-san, Momonosuke, Master Caesar, this is my long-time comrades and ally Duel Monsters: Stardust Dragon, Junk Warrior, and Junk Synchron, along with Jet Warrior whom I've just met. Guys, these are some of the pirates I've been travelling with for the past years...”


	35. XXXIV: Shooting Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N: Hi, I'm back! The Dressrosa arc is coming soon, so I'm trying to wrap this bit up and get to it! – LLS

_While the Straw Hats were on their way to Dressrosa, a tsunami nearly crashed upon them. They were saved by a mysterious Duellist with the pseudonym of Maille, who transported them into a parallel dimension which contained the mysterious archipelago of Messiah Draconis. In a twist of fate, their handyman Yusei, who had been laid down with an injury, was kidnapped along with his D-Wheel, and the Strawhats are headed with their allies: Maille, the samurai Kin'emon, and the Shichibukai Trafalgar Law, to rescue him._

_Sanji and Usopp have found Yusei, and are currently facing three of Starlight Road's monsters, before the tension was defused by Yusei. Unknown to all of them, Law and Robin lie captured within cards somewhere in Starlight Road._

_At the same time, Luffy, Ace, Aki, Brook, Franky and Nami are hurrying with three of the Signer Dragons towards the final island, Starlight Road._

_Meanwhile, Zoro and Chopper have met Red Demon's Dragon and his master, the former Signer Jack Atlas... and Yusei's friend._

* * *

Sulphurous fumes clung to the inside of Chopper's nose. The cervid Devil Fruit user could ignore it, especially since he awoke to the sight of the blond demon and Zoro...

“Pirates? Are we talking about the same Yusei? That straight-laced guy became a pirate?” came the same strident voice from the tall blond man.

“He's a great help,” Zoro added. “Sometimes it feels like him and I are the only sane men aboard. That ero cook loses his head over women so easily, so Yusei's a big help. The sea-witch also leaves me alone if he's around.”

“That's right! Yusei's super reliable no matter which universe! Ah, we're out...”

“I brought a bottle... say, what's your name?”

“Call me Jack. You're Zoro, right?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“By having a drinking party, they seem to have reached a mutual understanding,” Chopper started as the imp next to him spoke. “It's honestly a bit scary.”

“Yeah... they're so alike,” Chopper commented. _This must be the reason why Yusei doesn't mind Zoro lazing about sometimes... because of his friend…_

“We thought he was dead, and then we found out that he was missing for two years and he never even made contact...” Jack commented, taking a swig. One arm was thrown over the tail of Red Demon's Dragon, and the dragon snuffled a snort. “Well, we knew he was alive.”

“He came here by accident?” Zoro asked.

“How would I know?” Jack snorted. “Yusei, that guy... I think he would have spent his whole life in Neo Domino City, working to build the city we left behind. The city would have absorbed all his life. The best Duelist I’ve ever duelled would have died in obscurity... how am I supposed to get back my title then?!”

“You're his friend, right?” Zoro asked.

“He's my foster brother and rival,” Jack harrumphed, scowling as Red Demon's Dragon began to scratch at the volcanic ash behind him. “I... we're rivals for the throne of Riding Duels. Although frankly, I haven't managed a win since that time... it's complicated. It's... I used to win against him, with Red Demon's Dragon. I've only ever won once in a serious Duel against him, and that was when he had a swelled head. Now... now with Red Demon's Dragon, I'm catching up to him to fight him again, win, and become the King.”

Heat flared in a bloom of red-orange, unnoticed by men and reindeer and Duel spirits. “That's my curse... I guess,” Jack finally said.

_One wished to rule over all that he surveyed, with an iron-clad fist of power for its very pursuit... And the second broke from the depths of fire._

* * *

“Aki.”

Aki sat up. “Luffy?”

“Are we there yet?”

Aki was saved from hitting him by Ace, who did it for her. His fist bounced off of Luffy, indicating that no Haki had been involved. “Luffy… answer me. Are you worried about Yusei, or are you looking forward to the giant robot?”

“I’m worried about Yusei!” Luffy paused. “They have giant robots? Giant robots!”

“Exactly how bad is your memory?!” Franky exclaimed as they trekked through the Ancient Forest. “Anyway, is this the right way, mecha dragon?”

“How rude!” Power Tool bristled. “Messiah Draconis is an archipelago linked together close enough to walk across. All of you started at Black Feather's island, passed through Black Garden, and now you passed my territory into Ancient Fairy Dragon's. If we're lucky, we can bypass the Dragon's Shoulder straits to Starlight Road.”

Nami raised a hand along with Brook. “And if we're unlucky...?”

“We fight Red Demon's Dragon and his followers,” was Black Feather Dragon's nonchalant answer. “It's really, really bad.”

“Or, you have to fight through three dragons,” another voice added.

“A- Ancient Fairy Dragon!” the short boy that was Power Tool Dragon jumped in surprise. “W- What?”

“That's a dragon?!” Nami yelled, pointing towards the willowy form of Ancient Fairy's human form. “There's got to be a limit to beauty!”

She just shrugged. There was a certainty about her; that of inevitable retaliation if anyone fought back, and a dignity of bearing that was different from the pirate's certainty. Luffy sniffed, and decided that she was weak, like how Nami was weak. Might not measure up in a straight fight, but fought in ways that meant that they never stood on equal ground to begin with.

_Another wished for an isolated world of dreams and sunlight, hidden within green forests with only the Wild Magic..._

_So the fourth spread delicate wings of light in a blaze of eternal sunshine._

“Ancient Fairy,” Black Feather narrowed her eyes. “ _Three_ dragons?”

“As you are aware, Stardust Dragon has registered a plea of judgement for her Duelist,” Ancient Fairy replied.

“It's worthless.” Black Feather dismissed. “It is the lot of humans to die. Yusei Fudo is not an exception. It's her fault for getting attached to all of her wielders. My Crow prefers his freedom.”

“I remember a certain someone acting _yandere_ over that Sétanta,” Ancient Fairy Dragon commented.

“Oh?” Black Feather growled. “If we're on the subject of yandere, at least I'm not the one called _La Belle Dame sans Merci_.”

Black Feather loomed towards Ancient Fairy Dragon. As they faced each other, Nami could already tell as they slowly shifted closer to inhuman forms, like how their skin took on a waxy sheen and stretched. How it was that Ancient Fairy glowed, her aura too much for her human shell to contain. A spectre of shadow loomed behind Black Feather Dragon, wings against the white of the skies overhead.

“I think... we've gone off track.” Nami frowned as the two dragons started bickering. “Are they even serious? We don't have time!”

“It can't be helped.” Aki sighed. “Black Rose, stop them.”

The black knight strode up, physically interceding in the midst of the potential cat-fight. A storm of rose petals blew up with his steps, stronger and stronger until they turned on him with identical snarls.

_A third wished to destroy everything within the pitch-black flowers, never caring either for enemy or ally..._

_Thus the third bloomed within the dark flowers of death._

“Ancient Fairy Dragon,” growled the dark knight. “Either fight, or flee.”

The beautiful spirit subsided. “You're so unreasonable, Black Rose. Just like that woman and the beanie-man who passed through here.”

“Woman? Beanie-man? You mean Robin and Trafalgar?” Nami demanded.

“Seriously?!” Luffy spoke up. “Where are they?”

Ancient Fairy Dragon considered for a moment. “They're entertaining Stardust.”

“Entertaining?” Brook contemplated. “That sounds scary!”

“What do you mean?” Aki demanded. “Entertaining?”

“Aki-ojou, it's an... interview,” Black Rose said. “In your words... a judgement?”

“What do you mean, Black Rose?” Nami demanded.

“Are they in danger?” Luffy demanded.

“No.” Black Rose frowned at the thought. “Stardust's motive is not to kill you. She believes truly that Yusei Fudo's continued association with pirates like yourselves is more than dangerous. Considering the circumstances and his injury, it is not a difficult conclusion to arrive at.”

“Hold on,” Nami rebutted. “Aki goes through the same dangers too.”

“I believe in Aki-ojou and her abilities, and I will fight for her,” Black Rose made a short bow to his mistress. “I believe that Stardust Dragon also believes in the same things in Yusei Fudo, and would do the same for him. She loves him, having watched over him for most of his life and hoped for the best of life for him.”

Aki blushed. “Stardust Dragon... loves him?”

“As a mother would love her son.”

Ace looked away, pained eyes directed to the ground.

Black Rose pondered, and then nodded. “Mr Captain... I do not believe that you have a reason to wish Yusei Fudo harm. I believe too, that Yusei Fudo willingly follows your crew out of his free will. However, based on previous... _experiences_... Stardust Dragon might not believe that her Duelist is capable of unbiased judgement where his friends are concerned.”

Luffy's brow furrowed, and then his eyes blinked. “...so, I just gotta meet Yusei's mother, right?”

* * *

Robin rubbed her forehead and face as she awoke. It was odd, having been startled awake by what felt like a small earthquake in the distance, but Robin was quite sure that her captain was the one responsible for that earthquake.

“Nico Robin!” Trafalgar Law sounded... well, that particular tone of being tossed into a hurricane and desperately trying to steer it from within, only to fail miserably, was not a stranger.

“Captain Trafalgar,” Robin blinked, wiping her eyes, and blinked again at the beach they happened to be on.

“R- Robin-san!” Yusei was running – or briskly walking, given how he had been tackled by monsters upon the first step – towards her. “Law-san! I'm so sorry!”

“Yusei-kun?”

“Robin- _chwan_ ~!” Sanji's exclamation was obvious. “I'm so glad that you're alright!”

“Robin! The island's full of mecha!” Usopp. That was Usopp. Or a hyperactive _tengu_ leaping around.

A pair of bare feet stopped next to Yusei under a dog-pile of squabbling half-mechanised monsters. Robin glanced up to meet golden eyes set in a beautiful angled face, narrowly set and pupils slitted.

“What the hell's going on, Yusei?” Law growled.

“You are part of the pirate crew as well?” the woman questioned.

“Ah,” Yusei looked worried, and pained. “Robin-san, Law-san, this is Stardust Dragon, my... partner? Companion? Stardust, this is Robin-san.”

“Are you alright, Yusei?” Robin frowned at the lack of colour in his face as he winced.

“Ah... hurts...”

“YUSEI-DONO!” The monsters bodily carried him off behind the statuesque woman who was a dragon.

“Sorry, Robin-chan, Trafalgar,” Sanji and Usopp – the former bodily dragging away the latter – strode up to Law and her. “It looks like Stardust-sama kidnapped Yusei to bring him here.”

“You seem like a reasonable entity, Nico Robin.” Stardust, the woman, primly knelt such that the skirts of her dress seemed to spilled about her like a veil of sparkles. “So I would have you explain, why is it that my Duelist has been injured countless times for your crew and captain.”

“...I don't understand,” Robin blurted. “We are friends, and of the same crew.”

“Yes,” Stardust agreed. “However, as friends, is it not also a tenet to stop friends from going too far? I understand that friends tend to act as a mitigating influence upon individual choices to prevent individuals from acting out of line with a society.”

Robin nodded as she processed the words. “That seems about right. We would risk everything for Yusei, as Yusei did for us... and our captain. Luffy never forces Yusei to do anything... except maybe raid the fridge.”

“So, it falls towards your captain...” Stardust scoffed.

“What is going on?” Law hissed to the other pirates.

Sanji's eyes turned into hearts. “Stardust kidnapped Yusei out of love~!”

“Like I care!” Law snapped back. “What about our deal? We were supposed to go to Dressrosa! We're behind schedule! And what's with her stalking your handyman?”

Stardust froze. Then, there was now an iridescent dragon of blues and purples, sparks jumping from bared teeth to flare out at them.

“Stardust!” Yusei's yell punctuated the transformation.

“He was rude, Yusei!” the woman's voice retorted.

“...the second talking dragon,” Law's face fell. “What did the first dragon do to us? Why are we here?”

“Ancient Fairy Dragon sent you here as prisoners in cards. Yusei bade me to release you.” The answers were clipped and short. “You are here to prove that you can restrain his misguided intentions.”

“Restrain?” Usopp echoed. “Oi, you've got something wrong. We don't restrain anyone in our crew.”

“Even if he gets killed?”

“Then he dies doing what he loves.” Sanji grinned, but the grin faded upon looking at Stardust's expression of blankness.

“I...” Stardust Dragon growled, an intimidating and beautiful sight up close that even Law caught himself staring. The mighty dragon of the stars was definitely one step up of Punk Hazard's guardians, at least. “Yusei has suffered a spiritual injury due to a stolen card. We were lucky that he was close to a way-point between dimensions, so we brought him here.”

“How does the card lead to his injury?” Law scoffed.

“The islands of Messiah Draconis is connected to the souls of the six Signers.” Stardust explained. “The cores of the island represent possibilities, and through these cores, blank cards can be forged. These blank cards are an unmolded portion of power, able to form anything. An invincible monster, an inviolable spell, an unbreakable trap; they are all possible. They are a portion of Yusei's power and potential, and it was stolen.”

“Hence the injury,” Robin concluded. “What... does the missing card do?”

“Draco, the thief...” Stardust exclaimed in frustration. “He stole a card that held more power than most. That card... that card has the potential to grant any wish.”

Usopp's face turned slack. A cigarette butt fell onto Sanji's shoe, burning a mark into the leather. Robin blinked, and even Law was at a loss for words. After all, while they had not been looking, the stakes had risen to far above anything they could have guessed at.

It was also at this point that hell-fire began to burn the beaches. _That_ was slightly more expected.


	36. XXXV: Edge Imp Sabres

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I had a feeling that the Wano people would be important, I was right! Following the Dressrosa Arc would therefore be an Ace-heavy plot-line! – LLS

****_While the Straw Hats were on their way to Dressrosa, a tsunami nearly crashed upon them. They were saved by a mysterious Duellist with the pseudonym of Maille, who transported them into a parallel dimension which contained the mysterious archipelago of Messiah Draconis. In a twist of fate, their handyman Yusei, who had been laid down with an injury, was kidnapped along with his D-Wheel, and the Strawhats are headed with their allies: Maille, the samurai Kin'emon, and the Shichibukai Trafalgar Law, to rescue him. Now, Luffy will face the ancient spirit of Stardust Dragon to retrieve his companion._

_Meanwhile, under the night of passionate Dressrosa, more events unfurl._

* * *

Days before Law's appointment on Dressrosa, Doflamingo had a meeting.

With only a candle to light the Hall of Suits, even the bright colours of the four Suit seats were muted and faded in the darkness. The footsteps that echoed down the Hall of Suits caused Donquixote Doflamingo to keep twitching, especially as the shadows kept stretching with each footstep.

A suitcase dropped, yawning open as the cloaked man with white wild-looking hair dropped it. A shining rectangular card winked from within.

“Straight from Marineford. One card left behind by Fudo Yusei.” drawled the white-haired man. “Money?”

Doflamingo set out a suitcase. “ _Fuffuffuffuffu_... How do I know that you're not cheating me... Bakura?”

Bakura turned, beginning to walk around the dark purple Spade seat, and tracing its pointed head.

♠

“You don't, Joker.” Bakura continued walking to the other, moving from Doflamingo's left to right to its neighbour.

♦

“It might not be obvious, but your power rests at the edge of a cliff.” Bakura slowly twisted between the Diamond and Heart Seats. “Your toys across this island lie, scattered and forgotten, but still clinging on to life. Perhaps... you might ask your heart, now why would a thief simply bring you this thing for payment?”

♥

“Could it be, that the thief knows that you have not won this thing?” And Bakura sat in the last seat, upholstered in green leather.

♣

“You don't _know_ , Joker. Hence the reason we're doing this in your territory, in the hall of your tacky decoration and surrounded by your men.” Bakura rested his chin on the palm of his hand, smirking back at the pirate king of Dressrosa. “You _know_ , of course, that Fudo Yusei is capable of great things. Wonderful things. Terrible things. Like bringing the dead back to life.”

Bakura smirked deeper as Doflamingo leant forward. “Now, you know _how_ he does those things, because I told you. For the past two years, Doflamingo, have been searching for the source of his power, to get what you wish for. I have brought it, but even so, the raw power of wishes is useless to you. None of your men can shape it either. So... we can stop our deal right at the point where I take my five hundred million Beli and leave... or we can negotiate even further.”

Bakura paused in contemplation. “I have my eye on this house in the Flower Hill. It would make a lovely vacation spot.”

Doflamingo's smile disappeared. “All this for a house?”

“And to live there without harassment.”

“Ah.” His confusion cleared up. “Respectability is so hard to claim, especially for thieves like us, eh? Perhaps you've had enough of wandering about.”

“I'm five thousand years old. Make a guess.”

Doflamingo's face twisted. “Even immortals must rest somewhere, I see. Well, the kingdom of Dressrosa will be very glad to welcome such an exemplary citizen provided that one special service is provided.”

“Make you immortal?”

“To the point! Fuffuffuffuffu _,_ ” gloated the pirate. “So, the card can make me immortal?”

“You have to win the card, in order to shape its power. Luckily, you don't have to win it from Fudo Yusei himself.” Bakura detailed. “There is a ritual involved in this type of large-scale magic. It involves a really large stage, ritualised combat via battle royale, one of you must have a sword, and I must go like this.”

The wiggling fingers of Bakura made a strange impression against the shadows and Doflamingo's serious expression behind his glasses. The white-haired magician waited.

“I know a man with a sword,” Doflamingo finally conceded. “But the combat... doesn't have to be my people, right?”

“Nope,” and the sound made a pop in Bakura's lips. “But the effect tends to be directly pro- _por_ -tio-nal to what you invest. What's immortality worth to you, Joker?”

“So much that you're not getting out without my say-so.”

Bakura broke out in laughter. “I'll just wait for the tournament!”

The laughter echoed as he faded out of existence, and the slender strings tying him to the Clubs seat lay loosely draped over the upholstery.

* * *

Nami awoke on the deck of the Thousand Sunny. Somehow, their ship had moored itself by Dressrosa, despite the lack of people at its helm. Nami ascribed that to Yusei's terrifying dragon guardian, since her ears were still ringing from where Luffy had confronted the worried guardian and gotten scolded for his trouble. At least, if scolding had the side effect of possibly boiling people's brains inside their skulls.

The thud of newspaper made Nami realise that the News Coo was present. Trafalgar Law's exclamation clarified that the News Coo had just dropped the  _New World Times_  on him.

“I can't remember anything, but my ears are ringing...” Luffy complained. His eyes rolled before his head ducked over the gunwales and the sound of retching started.

“Quiet, we'll be heard...” Usopp's eyes kept rolling around as he clutched onto a ratline for dear life, moving to retch over the deck as well. “Yusei, your dragon _sucks_.”

The handyman himself was pale as he joined them, dragging Caesar Clown behind him. “Stardust was mad... Ah, Master Caesar, if you don't mind.”

“Thank you, Dr Fudo.”

Chopper watched as nearly everyone on board, except Momonosuke and himself, started throwing up in awe and terror. “I'm glad that my ears aren't human. So this is what happens when we piss Yusei's mum off...”

“Stardust Dragon is not my mother.” Yusei stood straight enough to respond, still clinging on the gunwales.

“Yusei, we just got scolded by her for what happened on Fishman Island.” Ace glared up at him, the effect ruined by his hat hanging askew. “She _is_ your mother.”

“And a very beautiful lady Stardust-sama is, for sending us all the way here.” Sanji agreed, a heart sparkling in his eye despite the paleness of his face. “Now we just need to retrieve whatever that thief stole before she comes here. Actually, we could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble, if a certain _captain_ and his _hothead idiot_ brother didn't challenge Stardust-sama.”

Zoro stopped retching, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. He opened his mouth, before a memory of the flaming idiots yelling at the aristocratic lady popped up. Said lady morphed into a sparkling dragon and proceeded to roar at them. The memory changed to the dragon on Punk Hazard.

The memory popped.

“First time I've met a dragon.”

“He just erased his memory!” Chopper exclaimed.

Aki had finally recovered enough to stand without wobbling. “Yusei. Where are we? Nami?”

“Ah, wait for a bit, Aki-” Nami stopped talking as she consulted her Log Pose.

“Nami?” Robin interjected.

“We're... on Dressrosa.”

Ace and Luffy were the only ones retching. They stopped, looked up, their faces turned green once again, and their heads went overboard once more.

“Enough already!” Nami started yelling at them. “You guys jump around all the time and drag us along! What's so different this time?!”

“Yusei's mum is scary...” Luffy muttered.

“On that, we both agree...”

“But, we're on Dressrosa already.” Law considered, despite the fact that he seemed about as pale as the two D brothers. “We should split up here. Listen, don't let your guard down. We need to destroy the SMILE factory as planned. If we fail, it'll mess up everything-”

“Oi, Momo! Fly me to the town!” Law glowered as Luffy started to act much like the eternal child he was.

“W- What are you blabbering about! I cannot fly!”

“EHH! But I saw you flying!”

“I cannot fly! And even if I could, I would never do such a dreadful thing again! I will not enter the town anyway! My father said not to!”

“What, are you scared~?”

The dragon-child pounced onto Luffy. “We warriors are not scared of anything!”

Woodenly, Law's head turned towards Yusei. “Can your card wait?”

“Ah, Stardust said...” Yusei's brow furrowed in concentration, “...it'll be on the way where we're headed.”

“How convenient. Even if our alliance had not formed, your road will still take you to Dressrosa's path.” Law smirked. “Someone _else_ wants him to get eaten by a dragon.”

Behind him, a cloud of dust was forming as Luffy thrashed with Momonosuke. By the sidelines, Brook calmly sipped his tea, and offered another cup to a confused Aki. “He's an eight-year-old, Luffy-san...”

“...” Aki stood up. “Luffy-san. Law-san.”

Both captains stopped fighting.

“I think Yusei should stay aboard. He's still injured... and tired... and bleeding...” Aki's grimace grew even more pronounced with each item on her list. “And according to Stardust, he's going to be weakened after this theft.”

“Ransoming Caesar would place Yusei-ya directly into Doflamingo's path.” Law pointed out. “You've faced him once, Izayoi-ya. I think Doflamingo would be more wary of you if you were with the Green Bit team. Yusei-ya can also disappear into the crowds in town, since he's... more normal.”

“We're going to be split up?” Aki faintly blinked.

“...” Law's eyes flickered around, and towards the gunwales of the Thousand Sunny. He looked ready to throw himself overboard to get away from the Black Rose Witch. “Anyway! Navigator-san!”

“It'll be alright, Aki,” Yusei said once Law safely got out of the blast radius. “Franky-san, Usopp-san and I can dismantle the factory. If... you like-”

“From a practical point of view, it is possible that your card is either on Green Bit or on Dressrosa.” Aki reasoned as the much-recovered people onboard began to gather around, Franky deliberately tugging Caesar towards the Sunny's brig as everyone prepared to disembark onto the shores of Dressrosa. “Failing that, it must be elsewhere with the Sunny. But, Yusei, you must promise me not to use your powers.”

“Eh? Aki-”

“You can't!” Aki shook her head. “The Ultimate Offering took too much blood on Fishman Island. You're still recovering. If not, your Life Points might reach zero, and then... and then it'll really be over.”

“Uh huh.” Yusei smiled lightly. “I won't do anything to worry you, Aki. But you have to be safe as well, alright?”

“I understand.” Aki's grip on his hand, though, never loosened. “Ah... the factory destruction team just left...”

“Eh? I'm going now! See you later!”

Aki couldn't help but watch him leave. She was imagining Law's face later, when it turned out that the Shooting Star had abandoned him as a last bastion of sanity to drive him insane along with their captain, only to have left to try to keep the plan on track.

* * *

Franky was, for once, very glad that Yusei was not present. The port town of Acacia was still waking up for the morning. There was now a frisson of impending doom, and it started from the town square. Franky followed the Strawhat captain, Zoro, Sanji, Ace and Kin'emon to the crowded plaza, where whispers of horror and clacking limbs signalled that human and toy alike – because living toys were very much an attraction of Dressrosa – were horrified by something.

There was a large statue standing in the middle of the plaza. It shone like steel, and orangey metal had been bent to form smooth musculature and glittering scales. The statue's thin snout, claws, talons, and the tip of its balanced tail, all spoke to incredible attention to detail and workmanship. If Franky had not seen the actual, full-size version roar at them until his brain was rattling in his skull, he would have felt as afraid as the citizens of Dressrosa seemed to be right now.

The most terrifying sight, though, was the claw marks that ran through the ground. They spelled words,each word overlapping each other:

 

DOFFY. LIAR. THIEF.

 

“Ace. Get Yusei back to the ship.” Luffy immediately ordered, turning on his heel – and walking straight into the Strawhat handyman.

“What on the ship?” Yusei blinked as he caught sight of the statue. “T- That's-”

“That's not us,” Ace hissed back, pushing Yusei away from the square and the people who were starting to drape the heavy statue in flower garlands. “I don't know. But this is really creepy.”

“The card thief is here!” Yusei protested. “That's the card-”

“Yeah, we know it's your dragon.” Zoro griped.

“No, it's another card.”

“Statues of your dragon have their own card?” Ace repeated sceptically.

“Scrap-Iron Statue, it's a... long story.” Yusei stared at the statue. “I did not plant a statue here and accuse Doflamingo of being a liar and thief!”

“Whatever, turn around.” Ace sighed. “What you actually did doesn't matter now, Yusei. Doflamingo is going to take it personally. And we're already marked for terrible death, so let's make yours less terrible, because _your_ death is looking to become way more terrible than anything Doflamingo would do to _us_. And, did you know that people do _this_? Because I didn't.”

Yusei's poker face dropped. “Stardust Dragon is...?”

“Sorry, bro,” Franky nodded as he pushed his fellow engineer along. “This is what happens when everyone knows that you brought the hotshot there back to life. These are the consequences.”


End file.
